The Camp of Unending Dreams
by ankoku no ookami
Summary: Kagome Higurashi and her best friends are going to camp during most of the summer. How will they survive with Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga around? Will they be able to get over their differences?...definitely...yes...maybe...ummm, some? Please R
1. Camp what?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuaysha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

**A/N:** Ahoy! I wanted this to be just a short little fic about Kagome going to a summer camp and enjoying the experiences that an average teenager normally would. I hope that whoever reads this will enjoy it to their heart's content. You will see what it is like for Kagome from day one all the way through. But of course we can't forget her best friends and our favorite little hanyou! Oh, and by the way, this is an alternate universe fic...so...yeah. Please enjoy! Oh yeah, the fic is really called "Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei," but, due to _some _people's little minds, will be going by both that and "Camp of Unending Dreams."

Peace out!

* * *

**Camp of Unending Dreams**

**Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei**

_Chapter 1_

Camp what...?

Yawning, Kagome Higurashi lifted herself sleepily from the futon where she had fallen asleep the night before. It was saturday morning (ok, so maybe it was it wasn't morning...fine! It was just past noon, alright?) and there was nothing in the world that could ruin the peace floating through the room. School was out...yesterday! She didn't have to worry about it for another two months and she planned to use her free time doing whatever the heck she wanted (even if that consisted of laying back and relaxing all summer).

Smiling to herself, the raven haired girl moved around the room silently, as not to wake the others, cleaning up the mess she had made the night before. Kagome made sure to enjoy her freedom by celebrating. She watched movies all night and even into the early hours of the next day, eating a packet of pocky and some salt 'n' vinegar chips (_A/N:_ Mmmmm...-licks lips- My favorite. -mouth waters-). Although she was unaware of the time, Kagome was sure it was later than she normally slept. She didn't, however, know exactly how late until Souta came running down the stairs, fully dressed, having just come back from his soccer game.

"Hey, sis!" He called, running to his big sister and giving her a great, big bear hug. "I scored _two_ goals! _Two!_"

"Uh...great, Souta! But could you maybe...uh...ease up a bit?" Kagome asked, hardly able to breathe.

"Oh! Sorry!" He made his way to the stairs and started climbing with a skip in his step. "Oh yeah. Mom wanted me to tell you to see her as soon as you were up." With that, the young, dark haired boy disappeared from Kagome's vision. So much for not wanting to wake everybody up. Kagome sighed again and looked at the clock.

"_WHAT!_"

* * *

"..."

"Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi asked again.

"Wha? Oh! Yeah?" Kagome snapped out of her daze.

"I just asked if you were all ready for monday?" her mother grew a little apprehensive at Kagome's reaction. She did, after all, tell her daughter just last week that she had to be ready by monday, which was when Kagome would be leaving.

Kagome, on the other hand, mentally slapped herself for forgetting and glanced at the clock again. _12:53 pm._ After realizing what time it was after she woke up, she hurriedly cleaned up the basement (which had an extra room and a sort of den/family room type thing. This was where she usually stayed up to watch movies late at night.) and had a shower to fully wake her up. That was about half an hour ago and now she was just re-informed that she would be leaving first thing monday morning. Where, you ask? Well, you guessed it! CAMP!

Smiling, Kagome answered her mother, "Umm...mostly. Just a couple things left to pack. Hehe...well, I'll go do that now." And with that she was racing up the stairs to her bedroom to stuff a number of different assortments into a large pink and grey duffel bag.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed and Kagome glanced at the camp list for the umpteenth time. She skimmed through it again and again, making sure that she wasn't forgetting anything (and adding a couple of little things here and there). Finally, the slim girl stood and heaved a great sigh, stretching as far as her body would go. Packing was complete and she was ready for her 'fun' summer at Seirei Lake (Spirit Lake) which was where Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei (the Camp of Unending Dreams) was held year after year.

With it being her first year and all, Kagome was pretty nervous. Thankfully, though, she had gotten Sango and Ayame (her best friends) to sign up for the camp as well. If she had to suffer, so did they. It wasn't, after all, her idea to go to this strange camp in the middle of nowhere that she didn't even know the name of. Ok, so that wasn't completely true. She was told the name once-upon-a-time, but due to her oh-so-perfect memory, she had forgotten. Something about dreams and spirits was all that she remembered.

Tuning on her computer, Kagome leaned back in her chair, waiting patiently. She began playing with a slinky that she found on her desk (no doubt her brother's). Finally, she was signed onto her account and went to open up Messenger. Online, was Sango, Hojo, Eri, and someone she couldn't remember (went by the screen-name of "Don't bother talkin' to me." _'That's nice...'_ she thought. Then a message at the bottom of her screen appeared, informing her of the 4 unread messages she had and also of the conversation someone was trying to start with her.

**_Can't wait till Monday:_ **_Hey Kagome! How are you today? Did you stay up late again? lol You always regret that..._

_**Wake me up when things get interesting:** Hi Sango! Good morn- Afternoon to you, too. And I didn't stay up _that_ late...ok, so maybe I did...But it doesn't matter now. So, are you ready? (judging by your name, I would take that as a 'yes')_

_**Can't wait till Monday:** Oh, I'm so0o0o0o0o excited. It's going to be so much fun. (jumps up and down with joy) What about you?_

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **Oh yeah...I'm jumping for joy (rolls eyes)_

_**Can't wait till Monday:** You're really not excited? It was your mom in the first place that gave us the idea..._

_**Wake me up when things get interesting:** I know, I know. I'm just not sure I'm cut out for this sort of thing..._

_**Can't wait till Monday:** Don't worry. It'll be fine. Trust me._

_**Wake me up when things get interesting:** (sigh)...ok, if you say so..._

_**Can't wait till Monday: **I do. So please, just try to have fun. I bet it'll be a lot better then what you're imagining right now. (Don't look at me like that. I know that you _are_ imagining all the possible things that could go wrong.)_

_**Wake me up when things get interesting:** (sigh) It's a mystery how well you know me. _

_**Can't wait till Monday: **lol! Are you all ready? I am. It's all packed and ready to go. _

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **Yup! Well, almost. But the majority is...so you don't have to come barging into my room at 6:00 in the morning to make sure I'm ready..._

_**Can't wait till Monday: **Yeah, riiiiiiiight. But, you do know that we have to be there at 10, right?_

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **Do we really? Oh, well. I'll have enough time. But...NOOO! That means I'll have to get up around 8..._

_**Can't wait till Monday: **You'll have to get up a hell of a lot earlier if you want to make it there on time. lol. Probably around 6, I'd say. lol. Maybe I _will_ have to come into your room to get you up._

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: (**pales)...6? b-b-but...that's...just-just wrong. How do they expect me to get up at a time like THAT?_

_**Can't wait till Monday: **lol You'll manage, I'm sure. Oh yeah, I just remembered. (smiles slyly) They said something about hot guys being there... if you don't wanna miss out, you better get up extra early..._

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **..._

_**Can't wait till Monday:** (smirks) Well, I g2g but I'll see you around either 2mor0 or on Monday, ok? (btw, if you were wondering why you had to get up so early other than the fact that you need a boyfriend, the answer is that the ride there is like 2 and a half hours...)_

_W**ake me up when things get interesting: **...whatever. I so do _not _need a boyfriend. And what about you, miss I-don't-need-someone-to-take-care-of-me? Hm? Is that the reason you're going? (raises eyebrows) You sly cat, you..._

_**Can't wait till Monday:** ...It- it's not like that... I'll see you around, ok?_

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **Yeah yeah. And I just finished talking to my mom and she said there will be a bus coming to pick us up. _

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **Don't be late..._

_**Can't wait till Monday: **I'm hardly the one you have to be worrying about. But see you then. Bye._

_**Wake me up when things get interesting: **Bye._

_Can't wait till Monday! has signed off_

Kagome finally realized the other flashing message, informing her of another IM conversation (that had been flashing for about 5 minutes now). She looked to see who it was. _If you try and don't succeed, try and try again._ Hojo. Not really in the mood to talk to him, Kagome 'accidentaly' closed down Messenger and logged off her computer.

With nothing to do, Kagome went through her things once again and made her way downstairs to help her mom with dinner. A little later on, Ayame called and they talked a bit over the details of the trip. Ayame put on a front that she wasn't excited, but Kagome knew otherwise. She could tell by the sound of Ayame's voice that she was expecting this trip to be one to remember...even if she was forced into it.

At about 9:00pm, Kagome layed down on her comfy, pink bed and closed her eyes. She wanted to catch up on the sleep that she was sure to lose the next night. She wondered what to expect when she arrived at the lake in just over 36 hours (37, to be exact). In the end, Kagome figured not having any expectations would probably be best and without a second thought, she drifted off to sleep, her large cat (Buyo) sleeping contentedly beside her.

* * *

Kagome's day was pretty much as hectic as a calm day could possibly be. She was fretting over what was going to happen (and what could happen in the whole month and a half that she was going to be there). (**_A/N:_** Yes, I know. It's a long time, but what can ya do?) Halfway through the day, she went over final details with Ayame and Sango and placed her duffel bag (which was at the point of exploding) near the door where she could grab it quickly in the morning...just in case she somehow overslept...

* * *

Which she did. Yes, it was truly her fate, although she went to bed at a good 9pm. Oh well. After waking up at 1/4 to 7 in the morning (she set her alarm for 6, just as Sango suggested), Kagome was in a mad rush to get ready. Little did she know that all she really had to do was have a shower, get dressed, brush teeth, hair, etc. and eat breakfast. The bus was sceduled to leave around 7:20-7:25am and she was supposed to meet at a hall at 10 after 7 (where all the other campers would be meeting to get onto the bus(es).

Due to the fact that Kagome didn't want to leave Sango and Ayame there all alone (**_A/N:_** Sure Kagome, sure), she was able to make it there at 7:17. It was quite a feat. The buses (more than one. As in, lots of kids) had just finished loading and were getting ready to go. Kagome made it on one of the buses with no time to spare, hair still wet from her shower (you never know how long it'll be before you can have a shower while camping). The bus driver placed her things below the bus (in the compartment thingy's) while she scanned the faces on the bus. Half of them were already sleeping, she noticed in amusement. Finally, Kagome spotted Sango and Ayame near the back of the bus talking excitedly to each other in hushed tones. Kagome walked towards them and sat down at an empty seat behind theirs.

"Hey Kagome!" both girls cried in unison while a few opposing grumbles were heard around them (no doubt from the hyper activeness of the three girls).

"Hi guys." Kagome replied, getting herself comfy for the 2 and a half hour bus ride. She leaned forward and partly against the metal siding of the bus. She sighed, clearly nervous.

Ayame and Sango were feeling the same so they kept talking to Kagome, hoping that nothing would go wrong. Little did they know the roller coaster ride was just beginning. It was, after all, only the start. But first thing's first.

The bus ride...

**To be continued...

* * *

**

**A/N:** Just me here again (obviously). I hope you liked the first chapter, but just so you know, it will get a lot more interesting. Because, y'know, it's pretty difficult to create a great piece of writing when all this chapter consisted of was getting ready. Thanks for your time and email me if you have any concerns. Always a pleasure.

Ankoku no Ookami

**Next Chapter:** In the next chapter you could look forward to a long (but interesting, nonetheless) bus ride. And who is that sitting beside them? It couldn't be... Oooh...maybe even a couple of bus songs and possibly an annoyed hanyou... Can't forget his perverted friend. All this in the next chapter. Please R&R! I would really appreciate it.


	2. One long bus ride, many short tempers!

**Disclaimer:** I, sadly, do not own Inuyasha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.

**A/N: **Ahoy! Hope you are all having a wonderful time and are up for another chapter. After much consideration, I have decided to write a bit shorter chapters than what I have done in the past because that way I can update quicker. Lol What do you think? Good good. Well, if anyone has any concerns or questions or even suggestions (or something like that) please feel free to email me or review. Thanks for your time.

**Reviews: **I would like to thank you for reviewing.

_**Lord Fluffy's Minion: **I really appreciate the fact that you reviewed and am glad that I am getting some sort of feedback. I will keep in mind what you have said and would like to ask that you review whenever you find it necessary. I also enjoy the praise! That's always good. Thanks again!_

Peace out!

* * *

**Camp of Unending Dreams**

**Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei**

_Chapter 2_

One long bus ride, many short tempers!

Ten minutes after departure, Kagome realized just how long the ride would take. Although Ayame and Sango were talking excitedly about the many joys of camp, Kagome couldn't help but wonder those oh-so-dreary-thoughts. Anything could happen while you were away for a good month and a half. However, her thoughts were disrupted every couple of minutes by her friends asking what she thought about the topic that they happened to be discussing at the time.

"Ummm…I'm sure we'll be able to swim in the lake, Sango." Kagome reassured the brown haired girl. "Otherwise, there would be no point in having the camp there. And besides, they asked us to bring our swimsuits, so…" Kagome trailed off, seeing that Sango was convinced (for the most part) that they would, in fact, be allowed to go swimming.

Instead of Sango asking the next question, Ayame beat her to it. "What do you suppose the cabins will look like?" she turned around so that she was sitting tailor-legged in the seat, her back facing the front. "you think they'll have co-ed cabins?"

Sango glanced at Kagome who had the same skeptical glance. They were a bit worried about their friend's overly-expressive enthusiasm. "Uh…well…" Sango looked to Kagome as she too turned around in her seat.

"I highly doubt it you guys. And Ayame, you really shouldn't get your hopes up." the raven haired girl joked, patting her friend's shoulder. The three of them laughed together in unison. _At least, I hope there isn't…_ Kagome thought to herself.

After about half an hour of "What kind of food do we get?" "How often do you think we'll be able to shower?" "Are there lots of mosquitoes?" "Did we need to bring rain gear?" "How much longer?" etc., the girls were clearly out of things to talk about.

Sighing, Kagome pulled her knees up and slid down the back of the seat so that she could rest comfortably for the majority of the trip. However, with Sango and Ayame having the same idea, she appeared to be all alone. Oh well. Sifting through the small backpack that she had brought on the bus, Kagome failed to notice a black and red cap land beside her on the half-empty seat. She did, however, notice when someone came to retrieve it and knocked her water bottle (that she had taken out of her bag and placed on the seat) onto the floor.

With lightning-quick reflexes, the silver haired teen was able to grab the bottle before it rolled away. He glanced from the water bottle to the seat (which he hadn't noticed was occupied due to the fact that, from behind, he couldn't see anybody) and eventually to Kagome, who was watching him curiously with her large, chocolate brown eyes.

"What?" he asked, thrusting the bottle in her direction as he looked to a seat that was located at the very back. In his other hand he held his (or what Kagome thought was his) hat. After placing it on his head, the teen grumbled deep in his chest and tore his gaze away from the back seat. Clearly, he didn't want to return to the boy (huge grin and all) sitting there.

Kagome was pondering curiously over his strange, enchanting eyes when they all-of-a-sudden locked onto hers. She seemed unfazed…until, of course, he sat down beside her. This caught her completely off-guard.

"Uh…"

The boy finally removed his gaze and looked to the water bottle still in his hand. "Er…here." Kagome took it, still confused at his actions. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Kagome sighed inwardly. Act first, ask questions later. Men. "Well, I can't see why not." she answered. "But where exactly did you come from? Oh! And I'm Higurashi Kagome." Kagome held out her hand to him, gesturing for him to take it.

"Hi. I'm Inuyasha." he shook it briefly before glancing to the back again. "I've seen you around before. At school, probably. And about where I came from…well," Inuyasha pointed to the back seat, "Right there is where I _was_ sitting. Miroku, however, couldn't keep his damn mouth shut."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "My, aren't we full of colorful language."

Inuyasha cocked his head to the side. "Huh…?"

Glancing at his face (and seeing that he truly didn't understand what she was saying), Kagome sighed. "You shouldn't swear."

Inuyasha snorted. "Yeah. Whatever."

"What?" Kagome asked. "It's a bad habit." She waited a moment before continuing, seeing that Inuyasha was obviously not going to reply, "Anyway, why did you say you were here?" She knew for a fact that he didn't (other than the whole 'Miroku couldn't keep his mouth shut' thing), but wanted to know the reasons for his abrupt visit.

"I didn't." he replied. He however, upon seeing her intent face, changed his answer. "Miroku, the tall, scrawny kid in the back," Inuyasha explained as if clarifying, though Kagome didn't think he looked at all scrawny (he was pretty well-muscled), "had the great idea to reveal my deepest, darkest secrets." Inuyasha glanced at Kagome from half-lowered eyelids, looking to see if she was buying it.

Kagome raised her eyebrows and cocked her head in his direction. "Oh? And these would be…?"

Inuyasha mentally slapped himself. Although he managed to dodge the real reason for him escaping the back seat, he also managed to dig himself into another, just as deep, hole. "Uh…well, now…that's none of your business." Inuyasha silently cheered himself for thinking of a come-back that quickly.

"Uh-huh…" Kagome said in that ok-whatever-you-say type of way.

"What?" Inuyasha's eyes kept darting, making him look none too inconspicuous. She just kept looking at him, and he was beginning to get a little unnerved. "Ok, ok. So that wasn't the reason I came here. So what? Shoot me."

Kagome looked sympathetically at him. _'Poor boys. All they think about is violence.'_ "And why would I do that? I'm a relatively non-violent person." she countered, feinting hurt.

"Uh…" Inuyasha couldn't understand how women could twist their words to sound like something totally different. "It was…uh…a figure of speech." he said lamely. "I…didn't…er, wasn't implying that you were violent or anything…"

"Oh, I know. I was just kidding." Kagome smiled sweetly.

"Oh."

"So then your real reason for being here?" Now Kagome was curious (not that she wasn't before).

"Oh, yeah." the amber-eyed teen didn't seem to want to answer, but decided to anyway. "Well, my _friend,_ Miroku, was trying to set me up with a girl that I didn't really want to go out with…She wasn't my type. So I…told her 'no' and she didn't even seem too upset, but Miroku wouldn't drop it. I sort of…exploded in his face and he…uh…well, he decided to play a little game." At this Inuyasha blushed and began wringing his hands together.

"Oh? What kind of game?" Kagome asked. She couldn't help but notice how cute he was…I mean, looked…as he took off his hat and continued to fidget, though this time scrunching his cap nervously.

Inuyasha glanced to the back again before sighing. He turned a bit so that he was facing Kagome a bit more and continued. "He said that I was to…" he cleared his throat, "I was to…talk…to whoever the hat landed on or beside. And with that he grabbed it and chucked it." Inuyasha glanced up from his hands to see what Kagome was thinking of all this.

During his explanation, Kagome was sure Inuyasha had left something out, but was amused nonetheless. She grinned at him and answered, "Well, you're still in the game apparently."

Evidently, Inuyasha was relieved. The last thing he needed was some girl exploding in his face…because of Miroku, no less. "Yeah, it would seem so." He grinned back. "Well, I'll see you around…"

Kagome realized that Inuyasha was excusing himself as he began hoisting himself up from the seat. "If you wanted to stay, you could." she blurted, before she could stop herself. "I mean…that is, if you…er…"

"I'd love to." Inuyasha turned back to look at her, smiling lazily. Kagome blushed slightly in response. "I just have to go tell the lecher that I won." He grinned and made his way to the back seat where an oblivious Miroku sat.

"Hey!" Miroku greeted. "What's this? No 'hi' or anything?" he feinted hurt, clutching his heart. "I'm hurt. Really, I am-"

"Shove it." Inuyasha finally interrupted. "Just came to say that I win." and with that Inuyasha was on his way back to Kagome's seat.

Miroku sat dumbfounded for a moment more, contemplating what his friend had just said to him. "Hey, wait up!"

While Inuyasha was away, Kagome took the chance to talk to her closest friends.

"So how are you guys hanging?" she asked them.

Both Sango and Ayame sighed simultaneously. "I'm doing fine." Ayame stated. "Just bored."

"Same." Sango agreed, nodding her head thoughtfully. "Do you think maybe…no, never mind."

"What?" Curiosity got the better of the vibrantly red-haired girl.

"Well, do you think maybe this won't be as fun as we thought it would?" she asked downheartedly.

"Sango," Kagome started, "You've got to keep your hopes up. This is, after all, only the bus ride. I can almost guarantee it will get a lot more interesting. And besides, there's someone I'd like you to meet. We just met a few minutes ago."

The brunette smiled to her friends. They could always cheer her up when she needed it. "Oh? And who might this person be?" Ayame looked just as excited to know as Sango was.

"Well…oh, here he comes now." Kagome moved over so that Inuyasha had room to sit on the seat. "Hi again." she greeted before continuing. "Inuyasha, this is Sango and Ayame." Kagome gestured to the respective persons. "Sango and Ayame, this is Inuyasha." They all said polite 'hello's,' but not without Kagome noticing the questioning glances her friends were giving her.

She had to break the tension somehow, otherwise it would be a _very_ long trip. However, just as she was about to make an attempt at a conversation, somebody else showed up. "Uh…hi." Kagome said politely. Inuyasha's attention was caught by this and he followed her gaze.

"Oh. What do you want?" he asked, not paying Miroku much mind.

"I couldn't help but notice three beautiful ladies sitting here all alone." Miroku completely ignored Inuyasha. "Would you like some company?" He seemed innocent enough, so the three girls nodded an affirmative.

Inuyasha glared at the black dark haired teen as he sat down across from Sango and Ayame.

"What's the matter, Inuyasha? Is there something wrong?" Kagome asked innocently.

"Yeah." he muttered under his breath. "That's the lecher, Miroku." With that, Inuyasha gave him a 'warning' glare. Miroku pretended not to notice and continued talking to Ayame and Sango. Kagome was a bit off-limits due to the fact that he would have to 'talk' to her over Inuyasha which was something he didn't really want to do.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha turned back to Kagome. "So, what brings you here?" he asked and they continued a civil conversation (interrupted a couple of times by a few slaps coming from the seat in front of them and even once a round of "The never ending song") for a good twenty minutes. That is, until they discovered one of their many differences.

"No. You are supposed to clean it thoroughly and bandage it." Kagome pointed out.

"Have you ever heard of letting it breathe, wench?" Inuyasha asked, clearly irritated. They began this part of the conversation by starting up on first aid (courtesy of Kagome) and had been arguing for that past five minutes over which method was more efficient.

Kagome's: Clean thoroughly (making sure to get all the dirt out) and bandaging so that no other infectious materials could get in.

Inuyasha's: Throw on some peroxide and blow on it a bit. Leave it uncovered, allowing the wound to breathe and heal quicker.

Eventually, this had Miroku, Sango and Ayame choosing sides. Ayame agreed with Inuyasha, pointing out that covering it up would never allow it to heal. Sango took Kagome's side, supported by the fact that it was just a better idea entirely and Miroku agreed with the two lovely ladies (not that he didn't think Ayame was lovely. It was just that there was _two_ lovely ladies on his side as opposed to just one).

In the end, the supervisor on the bus told them to quiet down and respect others (they had gotten the majority of the bus to join in). Kagome blushed and slid down her seat, trying to hide, due to the fact that she was one of the ones getting in trouble. It just wasn't something to be proud of, in her mind. She forgot about it soon after though.

Inuyasha and Miroku had apparently gotten over their slight shyness and were now explaining their predicaments. The three girls were listening in curiously, wanting to know more about their new friends. It turned out that Miroku was forced to go by none-other-than Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked when Miroku admitted this. Apparently it was a funny story.

Inuyasha began. It all started on a dark and stormy night…oh, who am I kidding. It was a really bright and sunny Saturday and Miroku decided to visit Inuyasha. The temperature was a sweltering 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) and they were home alone. Inuyasha decided to test the air conditioning in his house. Apparently, it wasn't powerful enough for the extreme heat wave so Miroku had a wonderful idea to make slushes. Yup. Great idea.

They got off to a good start, putting ice cubes into a blender with water. But, it basically went downhill from there. After they had a partially slushy slush, the boys decided to add flavoring (a couple packets of kool-aid and a few of cups of sugar). However, the sugar turned out to be, in fact, salt. And you and I both know what happens when you mix ice with salt. They ended up with an exploding blender, a busted a/c system and a huge mess. Let's just say, Sesshomaru was _not_ happy when he came home.

As unusual as it sounded, Inuyasha's punishment was to be ignored most of the time Sesshomaru was at home, which wasn't different from any other time, so it was all good. That is, until summer was just around the corner. Sesshomaru informed Inuyasha that he wasn't to stay home alone all summer and that he already had an alternative.

Inuyasha was horrified at the idea of going to a summer camp…and just because of the stupidly hot weather, too. Sesshomaru, however, was not taking 'no' as an answer. It was futile to argue and he knew it. Although there was nothing Inuyasha could do about going (that much was inevitable), he could still get away with making someone else suffer too. You guessed it. Miroku was forced (quite literally) to join the summer camp along with Inuyasha. And that's how they ended up going to camp. And to think it all started with a hot Saturday morning.

"So…that's our story." Miroku concluded.

Kagome laughed and poked Inuyasha in the arm. "Salt?" Which was followed by more laughing.

"Is there something you find funny, wench?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

Kagome immediately stopped laughing. "Would you stop calling me that?" She glared.

"And if I don't want to? Wench." Now he was just provoking her. Miroku turned to Sango and Ayame and they started up a lovely conversation about their lives, making sure to stay clear of the two behind them.

"I said, cut it out!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"UGHHH!" Kagome screamed in frustration. She gave Inuyasha a final death glare before turning completely around in her seat. Kagome pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms over them, staring intently out the window.

Sighing, Inuyasha let his head fall back against the seat. It wasn't like he meant to make her angry, it just…happened. Contemplating what to do, Inuyasha glanced ahead of him, seeing a flustered Sango, a laughing Ayame and a red (not blush-blush red) Miroku. They all seemed to be getting along fine. Why couldn't he and Kagome.

Upon deciding to just come out and apologize, Inuyasha felt a light touch on his side. He looked over to see Kagome sleeping peacefully, her head resting against his well-muscled arm. "Kagome," he whispered, shaking her softly.

"Mhhhm…" was her only reply. She looked so sincere, so at rest.

Inuyasha leaned down and in a barely-audible whisper, said, "I'm sorry," and he began to shift Kagome into a comfortable position where she could sleep the ride away.

Sango, apparently, had gotten the wrong idea as she looked over when the yelling ceased and saw Inuyasha rearranging Kagome. "Um, Inuyasha. Could you just let her sleep? She sometimes gets tired during the day and needs to rest. She must have been fretting herself to sleep last night. Trust me, you'll be thanking me later today when she's in a good mood." and with that Sango turned around to, once again, confront Miroku.

Glancing from the back of Sango's head to the sleeping Kagome, Inuyasha puzzled over what to do. He didn't, after all, want to move her and wake her up, especially after Sango just told him not to. Also, he figured the metal siding on the bus couldn't be too comfortable. So, after he put a lot of thought into it, Inuyasha made his decision and left Kagome to sleep to her heart's content. Subconsciously, he pulled a few strands of hair away from her angelic face and leaned his cheek on her silky black hair. He stayed like that, content with just inhaling her sweet scent. Within moments, however, he was fast asleep.

Sango took another glance behind her and smiled. Nudging Ayame, she indicated the seat behind theirs and Ayame turned around to look. She gasped and gave a small chuckle. Miroku's attention was, no doubt, drawn to whatever their attentions were on. He moved his eyes from the giggling girls to the seat behind. Kagome was snuggled up into a small ball, her tiny form protected by that of the larger teen beside her. She was leaning up against Inuyasha's side and he had his head resting on hers. They looked almost like a couple, despite the fact that they met just over an hour previous.

Miroku almost burst out laughing, but reconsidered due to a look the girls gave him. Instead, he wondered how Inuyasha was able to do it. First annoy the crap out of the girl, then get her to sleep peacefully in his arms. It was a mystery to him, and might always be.

That, however, was another matter for another day. Presently, he would focus on the task at hand. Which happened to be…

"Excuse me ladies." he interrupted Ayame's and Sango's 'girl talk.' "Would either of you be willing to…"

**To be Continued…

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**

**A/N:** Another chapter over and done with. Yay! Well, I just hope you are all enjoying yourselves. Also, I would really appreciate it if those of you who are taking a liking to this story would review and let me know. It would be…motivational. And guess what? I have all day off (school day)! Which means I might be able to get another chapter done! Happy day, happy day! Well, thanks a bunch and always a pleasure.

Ankoku no Ookami

**Next Chapter: **Have they? Could it be possible? _Is_ it possible? YES! They have finally arrived at Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei, or in other words, The Camp of Unending Dreams! They will meet all of the councilors and get introduced to the camp grounds. And did I mention the LAKE! Seirei Lake, is what it's called (which basically means Spirit Lake). Also, they will be sorted into their cabins and we will finally meet Kouga! Oh, yeah…Hojo's also there (ack!). What adventures await our heroes? Tune in next time on "The Camp of Unending Dreams!" (lol I just felt like doing that. It's really quite fun. You should try sometime.)


	3. Orientations and Orienteering

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. But I'm still hoping.

**A/N:** Ahoy! Well, so far what do you guys think? I'm hoping to get this chapter up really soon (but not so soon that it takes away from the quality) so that you pplz can enjoy…that is…if it's even remotely close to being good…hmm (ponders). Well, I'll get started and I will also calculate how many days they stay there and how long it is actually going to be so that you can have a bit of an idea oh how long it will turn out. (Like I said before, this is probably going to be a small fic having to do with them at summer camp.)

**Reviews:** I would like to thank you for reviewing.

_**Inuyashangel:** Thanks for reviewing and I enjoy your enthusiasm. But…you know Miroku. Of course it is quite incredible for him to have lasted that long without asking. We should actually be congratulating him. Lol. Well, stay tuned to find out if he did indeed._

_**Inuyasha-craver:** I really appreciate you reviewing, but I happen to like Kouga. But if you're worrying about how much of a butt he is, worry no more. He won't be too bad in my story. Hey, maybe you'll even grow to like him. And about Hojo…well, you can expect the unexpected. (Just between you and me, I don't like Hojo either, so that should give you some outlook on how he will end up…) Thanks again for reviewing._

Peace out!

**Camp of Unending Dreams**

**Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei **

_Chapter 3_

Orientations and Orienteering

Miroku was the first out of the five of them to exit the bus, though not voluntarily. Due to his…womanizing habits, Ayame and Sango (but mostly Sango) had thrown him off the bus as soon as they stopped, with or without their supervisor's permission. Ayame got off the bus after him, making sure to step on him on the way, causing the lecher to groan softly in pain.

The rest of the bus' inhabitants exited, leaving on three people. Kagome and Inuyasha, still (somehow) sleeping peacefully, and Sango. She really didn't want to wake them, but the bus driver was beginning to make his way back to the bus after emptying the under-the-bus compartments and he didn't look to be exactly the nicest person in the world.

Sighing, Sango kneeled on her seat, facing the back, and nudged the both of them until she heard a couple groans of, "Just 5 more minutes," and, "Where's the bacon?" erupting from their semi-conscious forms. Giggling softly, Sango gave Kagome a final poke in the ribs and made for the door at breakneck speed, being sure to exit the bus before Kagome awoke.

And wake she did…in the arms of a certain golden-eyed hanyou…the same golden-eyed hanyou she remembered being mad at earlier. Sango couldn't help but laugh when she heard a screech emit from the opened windows on the bus. That had definitely made Sango's day.

Ayame looked confusedly at the laughing Sango, but soon realized what happened when she saw a none-too-happy Inuyasha exit the bus, followed by a blushing Kagome. The poor Inu-hanyou was grumbling about wenches while rubbing his sensitive ears. After making his way to any place away from Kagome (which turned out to be near the edge of the clearing where the trees met gravel), Inuyasha mumbled a final complaint and cursed himself. He had forgotten his things over by the bus…and not to mention Miroku who was, still, lying face-down on the ground. Although it was a relatively gravel-free spot, Miroku still managed to surface with little rock imprints all over his arms and face (probably legs and chest too, but those were covered up).

After the ringing in his ears ceased, Inuyasha cautiously made his way to the side of the bus, determined on staying clear of the now-glaring Kagome. She did, after all, wake up next to the person (er…half demon) that she was most intent on staying away from. And it was shocking, to say the least. I mean, waking up next to anything even _remotely_ close to Inuyasha can really mess with your senses.

Not to mention the fact that his arm had somehow snaked its way around her waist…or the fact that she had turned in her sleep and woke up snuggling into the crook of his arm, her head leaning against his well-muscled chest. It was just a very…awkward moment when they were both awake.

Kagome waking up to the sight of a well-toned chest and Inuyasha waking up to the sound of Kagome's screech. Yup. Very awkward. After that, Inuyasha's hands immediately shot up to his poor, sensitive ears as he let out a string of incomprehensible curses. Kagome blushed when she realized she was probably the one who fell asleep first, and on Inuyasha, no less. She mumbled a silent sorry when she caught a glimpse of him glaring daggers at her, hands still securely locked onto ears.

After that they exited the bus, Kagome making her way to Sango and Ayame, and Inuyasha to the forest. After Miroku got up and he and Inuyasha had their bags, they moved away from the girls slowly, though every now and then Miroku would take a step towards them as opposed to away.

Finally, the second bus arrived. It was filled to the brim with students, as was the first, though the first had a few less kids. Parking adjacent to bus1, bus2 came to a shuddering halt, leaving enough room for another busload of students to enter the clearing. It was basically a gravel circle, about 50 meters in diameter, that was surrounded on three sides by trees. The only open area that they could see, other than a small little path leading up a hill, was the way the buses had came. After the doors opened, a mass of students surged their way forward, causing the bus to shake and tip precariously.

At 9:45am, the whole of the camp was assembled in the gravel clearing, talking to whoever they knew or even who they didn't know. Finally, an older (that's being generous) women came down a meandering path that apparently led to the actual camp. She stopped when she reached the center of the mass of students, ranging from the ages of 8-16 years. The woman cleared her throat, attempting to get the students' attention. Every head, surprisingly, turned towards her. Her presence was one that demanded attention…or maybe it was the fact that she was very old, very short and very…well, old.

Inuyasha snickered silently, though everyone in the camp was able to hear. Kagome sent him a warning glance that shut him up immediately. The woman continued. "My name is Tanisou Kaede and I am one of the managers of this camp. I would like to welcome ye all to Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei. I hope ye all enjoy your summer here and consider coming back for another fun-filled summer next year. I will introduce ye to the councilors and give ye a tour of our lovely camp in just a bit, but first ye must pass a simple test." she waited, creating suspense.

Many kids were holding their breaths subconsciously while others were leaning forward slightly. "The test is…" Kaede glanced about, making sure all attention was on her. "to get there."

Everyone sweat dropped, clearly not expecting that. "What do you mean, "get there?" a tall, dark-haired boy asked, his azure eyes flashing threateningly.

"Ye must all meet at the mess hall before we continue with the introductions. Think of it as a little test of skill…and direction." Kaede added in an undertone. "Ye will be given, in groups of however many you like- preferably between 2 and 6- directions and a compass. The groups will meet at where the "X" on the map is, which is the mess hall. Any questions?"

There was silence a moment before Inuyasha spoke up. "So, we have to get to the mess hall and…that's it?" he asked skeptically.

Kaede sighed, "Yes, that is what I said."

"So…how do we get there?"

"Just follow the directions."

"Or follow you." Inuyasha muttered.

"What was that?" Kaede was sure the silver haired hanyou had grumbled something, but her hearing wasn't what it used to be.

"Oh, nothing." Inuyasha grinned, imaginary devilish tail swishing behind him.

"Right." Kaede continued, "Now, ye will get into ye groups and await further orders."

"Yes, sir." Miroku joked as he stood in his spot, clearly not into the whole "Get into your groups" thing. He glanced at Inuyasha who shrugged in response to his silent question. Miroku shrugged back and they continued to stand there, apparently the only members in their group seeing as nobody was asking to join. Probably the fact that they had on their 'grumpy faces' and looked a bit irritated at the whole maze thing was what was keeping people away.

On the other side of the clearing, Kagome, Sango and Ayame had moved closer together, indicating that they were in a group. After a few more moments of chaos, the girls looked around to see if everyone was ready to go. They were about to move closer to where Kaede was standing to await their next set of instructions, but were confronted by the tall teen that had spoken up earlier.

Despite his earlier hostility, the demon (he looked like a demon to Kagome and Sango, and Ayame could tell from his scent) seemed really nice. He stopped before the group and glanced at the three girls almost nervously. "Hi…umm, I was wondering if…well, if I could join your group…" the dark-haired, blue-eyed demon asked, leaving the last part of his sentence hanging.

Kagome almost giggled due to the fact that earlier he seemed to be one of the 'high and mighty' types, but was now shuffling slightly. She quickly glanced at her two friends who wore amused expressions and nodded her head. "Sure you can,…umm…"

"Kouga." He supplied, releasing a relieved sigh. "Konkami Kouga." Grinning, Kouga shook each of their hands in turn. He seemed to be an ever-grinning, fun type of person and the girls were glad that they had already made a new friend.

Kaede had just started talking again when Ayame noticed two lonesome kids in the clearing. The small boy was looking a bit afraid and lost while the girl stood there with a sort of blank expression on her face as she glanced at the ground. The female wolf demon started making her way towards them, not paying attention to the instructions that Kaede was giving.

Kagome was surprised to find her friend missing when she looked beside her but, once she saw where she was headed, the raven-haired girl followed. While Ayame went towards the girl, Kagome made her way to the boy.

Sango and Kouga watched from where they stood as Ayame and Kagome made their way back with two new group members in tow. "Everyone," Ayame started, "Rin will be joining our group. Don't worry." she said to Rin. "They're all real nice."

It was Kagome's turn to do the introductions. "This here is Shippo and he will be joining us as well." The rest of the group nodded, but then realized they hadn't been paying attention to Kaede. Everybody in the group was instantly listening, intent on catching up on what they missed.

Turns out, all that Kaede had been saying was that following her would get them lost because she wasn't going to the mess hall and also not to cross the bright orange tape that indicated the boundaries. Those who did would be disqualified, punished and have any privileges taken away. When she asked everyone if they understood, Kaede received nods.

She herself nodded before beckoning someone to come forward. This someone was a youkai (by the looks, though he smelled also of human) and he carried a box with him. Kaede opened the box and produced a compass and map.

"These will be thy only materials for this task. I expect ye all to finish before noon." and with that she turned to the youkai and whispered something in his ear. He nodded. "Also," Kaede continued, "This is Haijoku Jinenji, one of the employees of this camp. He will be around and about throughout thy duration and will help those in need, though he is unable to assist ye in this task. Now, will one person from each group come and collect their group's materials."

Although the youkai looked a bit foreboding, no one really sensed and evil aura from him so the appointed person in each group went forward and received said supplies. After everyone looked ready, Kaede spoke, "Now I will leave ye all. Just follow the directions on the piece of paper. Ye will all arrive their soon enough. Goodbye."

The whole of the camp watched silently as the old woman made her way up the windy trail. When she was out of sight, a voice from somewhere in the crowd said, "Ok…Well, last one there's a rotten egg!" he yelled, then added, "Hey, I bet I'll beat you, Wazu!" With that said, a tall teenager with chocolaty-brown and black marbled dog ears bolted from the pack and made aimlessly for the woods (not even caring to look at the map), followed by what seemed to be a clone.

The Clone (or Wazu, going by what the first twin said) yelled back (er…ahead), "I'm faster and you know it, baka!"

The first twin grinned and called over his shoulder, "Yeah, that's why I get a head start!" Wazu followed closely behind Twin1, determination nipping at his heals.

Kagome shook her head to clear away the confusion and took a hold of the map that Kouga had gone to get. She skimmed over it quickly, being sure to take into account what direction they were headed and how far they had to go while the rest of the camp took off in an array of different directions. Well, some people _are_ a bit directionally challenged…

Suddenly, with renewed passion, Kagome took a superhero-ish stance, one hand placed on her hip and the other pointing towards who knew what direction. "This way!" she called (a bit loudly). "We _will _get to the mess hall if it's the last thing we do!"

Kouga looked from Kagome to Ayame and Sango, wondering if she lost it. The two girls smiled reassuringly and picked up their bags, heading in what they hoped was the right direction.

"Don't worry." Ayame said playfully, leaning closer to Kouga, "She only gets like this when she's had too much fresh air." Ayame laughed at his confused expression and grabbed his hand, dragging him to where everyone else had already entered the woods.

On the other side of the clearing, Miroku and Inuyasha went unnoticed, talking in hushed tones.

"I dunno…" Inuyasha sounded skeptical.

"Just trust me. It'll work." Miroku convinced his friend. "Now, all we have to do is stay behind far enough so they won't hear us."

Inuyasha nodded his head slowly, finally going along with Miroku's oh-so-intelligent plan. His theory went a little like this:

Along with Inuyasha, Miroku would follow Sango…I mean, Sango's group, which would eventually lead them to the mess hall. If they stayed far enough behind and out of sight, they shouldn't get caught and due to Inuyasha's nose, this was easy enough for them to accomplish. Miroku explained that their group looked like it had the best chance at getting there safely and mentioned nothing of the fact that he would rather spend his time with the lovely Sango.

Inuyasha finally, but grudgingly, agreed to go along with it…even if _he_ was the one that had to do all the work.

"Great!" Miroku exclaimed. "Let's just wait till they leave and-" The dark-haired teen stopped abruptly, his indigo gaze searching the empty clearing to no avail. "Inuyasha! They're gone!" he pointed out.

"No shit, Sherlock." Inuyasha yawned, clearly bored. "I could've told you that much. They did, after all, leave like 5 minutes ago."

"What?" A vein appeared on Miroku's head. "And you didn't say anything?"

"No."

Miroku sighed and breathed deeply, calming his nerves. He waited expectantly, watching Inuyasha.

"What?" The hanyou asked, unnerved by Miroku's gaze.

"Well, which way did they go?"

"Oh!" Inuyasha clued in. He took a moment to sift through the different smells surrounding them, his nose lifted high in the air.

After a minute of him just standing there, Miroku asked, "Which way are they?"

Inuyasha glanced at Miroku out of the corner of his eyes due to the fact that his nose was still in the air. "I can't find them."

Miroku fell to the ground. "What do you mean, 'You can't find them?'" he asked when he got up. "I thought you were an inu-youkai."

"Hanyou, actually, and I am." the golden-eyed boy said, sighing. "But, there are too many kids here and the forest smells are overpowering."

Rubbing his temple, Miroku sighed. "Can't you try a bit harder?"

Growling, Inuyasha got onto his hands and knees and began sniffing the ground. He crawled over to where the girls were standing when waiting in the clearing and moved eastwards, apparently picking up on their scent.

"Umm…Inuyasha…?" Miroku started, trying (key word) to contain his laughter.

"Save it." Inuyasha wasted no time in ridding Miroku of his current train of thought. "I need to concentrate, so shut up."

Miroku let out a final laugh at how hilarious the scene in front of him looked before composing himself. Then he was struck with an interesting thought. "Say, Inuyasha-"

"Yes, I have found them. Just close your mouth and follow like a good puppy."

"You're one to talk," he mumbled, but continued anyway, "I was going to ask you how you know which scent to follow." When Inuyasha didn't answer, Miroku took it as an invitation to ask more questions. "So, who's scent are you following exactly?"

Silence followed as Inuyasha kept his attention focused on the trail ahead of him.

"Can it be Ayame's?" Miroku asked slyly. "Or perhaps Sango's? Maybe you aren't following anything at all and are leading us further away from civiliza-"

"I know what I'm doing, Miroku." Inuyasha countered angrily. "Now carry this damn bag for me, will ya?" he tossed Miroku his own duffel bag, causing the lecher to let out a small 'oof.'

Despite the fact that Miroku was now carrying two bags instead of one, he was still able to keep up an easy pace with his very canine-resembling friend. "So, who's scent are you following?" he asked again, daring to push his luck.

Inuyasha stopped his actions and stood up, whispering back to Miroku, "They're up ahead." Miroku nodded. "But," the hanyou continued, "There are other people with them." Inuyasha sniffed the air once again before turning to Miroku. "A wolf demon and a kitsune. Also," he placed his nose in the air again, "a human."

Miroku nodded once again and they continued to follow behind silently, dropping the subject at hand. Up ahead, voices were heard.

It was Sango who was speaking. "Oh? And what about you Rin? Why are you here?"

No response was heard from the little girl. They continued to walk through the forest, no one having anything to say.

About 5 minutes later, Inuyasha could hear one of the others stop and he signaled for Miroku to do the same. Inuyasha caught the scent. It was the wolf demon.

"What's the matter, Kouga?" Kagome asked as she went back and stood next to him. Inuyasha and Miroku held their breaths.

"Oh, it's nothing, Kagome. Just stay back there." and with that Kouga stepped in front of Kagome protectively. He was now facing the direction they had came in. The same direction that Miroku and Inuyasha were hiding. "Hey! You!" Kouga yelled from where he was, obviously aware of the two.

"What do we do?" Miroku whispered furiously to Inuyasha. The hanyou beside him just watched on in anticipation.

"I know you're there." came the same husky voice. To Kagome he said, "I smell mutt."

Due to Inuyasha's amazing hearing, he was highly offended and stepped out from where the two of them were crouched down. He said, "What was that, wolf?" while cracking his knuckles.

"You heard me, Muttface."

"Why you…"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's puzzled voice stopped him from charging at the snickering 'wolf.' "What are you doing here?" she asked, confusion written clearly across her face.

"I uh…well, we were…umm…" Inuyasha stuttered, not sure how to answer her.

Kagome stepped out from behind Kouga and made her way up to Inuyasha. "Are you alright?" she asked concernedly.

"F-fine," he replied, looking away as a blush crept across his cheeks.

"Are you sure?" Kagome pried, stopping only a few inches away. "You look a little flushed."

Inuyasha stammered, but before he could answer was interrupted by Kouga. "Hey, Kagome. You know this guy?"

Inuyasha growled. "What's with the wolf?" he asked Kagome, his previous state temporarily forgotten.

Kagome looked between the two glaring teens, flabbergasted. How could they be at each other's throats after they just met? It was a mystery to her, but she wouldn't stand for it. "Inuyasha, this is Kouga. Kouga, Inuyasha. Now shake hands and play nice. There's no need for violence," she finalized.

Looking first at Kagome skeptically then to each other, the two boys hesitated before sticking out their hands and shaking each others. "Name's Kouga. Konkami Kouga," the wolf demon introduced himself.

"Inuyasha. I see we have gotten off on the wrong foot." Inuyasha stated, smirking.

"I agree."

The rest of the group watched on, dumbfounded. As Inuyasha and Kouga began talking about whatever it was guys talked about, Kagome dropped her head in her hand. They were so immature. First, they act all territorial, and then they act like best friends. Kagome sighed.

"Ok, you guys. Sorry to break up this up, but we really should be on our way."

Shippo tugged Kagome's sleeve. "Who's the dog-man?" he asked, partly hiding behind her.

Kagome laughed at Inuyasha's expression at being called a dog-man. "This mean, grumpy guy is Inuyasha. But don't worry. He's as harmless as a flea," she explained.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha blinked a couple of times at being called such a weird name, but then grew offended at Kagome's explanation of him. "I am not harmless," he stated, pouting slightly.

"Of course not, Inuyasha." Kagome pat his arm reassuringly.

"Hentai!" A few birds from surrounding trees took flight as a loud slap echoed through the forest. Sango huffed and made her way to stand behind Ayame and Rin. Apparently, while the introductions were being made, Miroku had spotted Sango and had gone over to 'talk' to her. After a while, he couldn't resist and his hand 'slipped.' Inuyasha walked over to him and cuffed him on the back of his head.

"You get what you deserve." he said simply.

"Yeah. But it's worth it." Miroku sighed, whether from delight or defeat Inuyasha couldn't tell. And neither did he want to.

Glancing at the map again, Kagome concluded that they were about halfway there. After checking the time (about 10:25), she figured they would arrive at their destination at about 11. This suited everybody just fine and they continued their trek through the woods, though this time with Inuyasha and Miroku visibly following.

However, after only 10 more minutes of walking, Shippo began to complain that his bag was too heavy. Kagome stopped and relieved him of it, though now she was having trouble keeping up. Inuyasha noticed this and was about to ask her if she wanted him to carry it along with his own (Inuyasha got his bag back from Miroku just after they were figured out), but Kouga beat him to it. Kagome thanked him and handed over Shippo's bag.

Not that this bothered Inuyasha much. He was just…annoyed at Kouga for stealing his opportunity. Opportunity for what, you may ask? Well, just for redeeming the whole incident that morning. It wasn't like he did anything wrong (except having his arm around her), but he still thought it would be better to have her think more of him than that.

So they continued walking and now Miroku had Rin's bag slumped over his shoulder. She had had trouble carrying it, but didn't bring it up. Miroku noticed (due to the fact that he had been walking as close to Sango as he could get and she was hiding behind Rin and Ayame) and took it without really saying anything. He just gave her a small smile and they continued on.

They talked about little things here and there for another 10 minutes. Groaning, the eight companions trudged along, hating the weight of their bags. However, having the weight securely on your back is a lot better than having it land on you.

A couple of screams were let out, but realization hadn't kicked in until a few moments afterwards. "What the…?" Miroku asked no one in particular.

While walking, the group seemed to fall into a hole. How it went unnoticed will be a mystery to all. Although it wasn't very deep, they would have much rather stayed on solid ground, bags still securely over shoulder instead of getting winded by the heavy things at the bottom of a hole.

Inuyasha stood up, helping the closest person to him do the same. Once up, Kagome went over to Shippo and Rin who appeared to be unharmed. "Is everybody alright?" she asked, glancing around the pit.

"Just…peachy." Sango's voice was heard followed by a muffled groan, though not her own. She had apparently landed on top of Miroku, causing the lecher to zone out for a moment. "Oh, sorry," she said, quickly getting off of him and allowing him to breathe.

"S'ok." he managed.

Ayame sneezed as she sat up. "That was…interesting," she concluded. Kouga nodded in agreement beside her.

Inuyasha dusted off his attire, but to no avail. "Where the he-"

"Where do you suppose it came from?" Kagome cut Inuyasha off from concluding his sentence. She gave him a glance that clearly said, 'Watch it.'

"What?" he asked innocently.

Kagome pointed to Rin and Shippo before answering. "There are children here. Watch your language." Inuyasha just "feh'd" and looked away in response.

"I don't know where it came from, but I do know that we have to get out of here." Sango replied in response to Inuyasha/Kagome's question.

"Well, I suppose I could just jump up and carry someone els-" Inuyasha immediately stopped as his ears twitched this way and that. Everyone else silenced and the other demons in the company listened carefully. You didn't, however, need to be a demon to hear the twigs crack above them. All their heads shot up.

There standing at the edge of the pit was a shadowed figure. A small whimper was heard from Shippo and even Rin gasped, but no amount of evil aura would prepare them for what they were about to witness.

After a moment of creepy silence, the figure changed position so that the sunlight was shining down on him, lighting up his face. "Yo!" he called down. It was the same demon that took off first for the 'task.' The one with the twin, Wazu, and the dog ears atop his head.

He jumped down from his 'perch' and landed gracefully beside Ayame. "Hey there! What're you all doing in this hole? Shouldn't you be…I dunno…walking, or something?" Though his questions seemed innocent enough, he had an air of mischief about him.

"We…umm, fell." Miroku answered for everybody. "Why?" he grew suddenly suspicious. "Did _you_ put this hole here?"

Dog-ear looked shocked, glancing from one person to the next. "Me?" he asked. "Oh, no!" Dog-ear started laughing as if it were some sort of joke. "Of course _I_ didn't," he continued, "that would be my brother."

Everyone dropped to the ground. Then Kagome said, "Right. Umm…why would he put a hole here?"

"He was trying to trap me here, no doubt." Dog-ear replied, nodding thoughtfully. "You see, I bet him that I would arrive first and he said that I wouldn't, but I told him that I would and we were running together for a while and decided that a wager was in order and he agreed so now we are both trying to win so that the other will have to dye their ears pink and not just pink, mind you, but really, really bright hot pink." Dog-ear sucked in a long breath.

The group sweat-dropped and stayed silent while blinking a couple of times.

"Umm…what did you say your name was?" Sango asked skeptically.

"Hmmm…I don't believe I did." Dog-ear answered, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Everybody waited for him to tell them, but he stayed silent, not catching on. Finally, after a few (eight) blank stares he said, "Oh! My name is Hakussho Ikkarawashii and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Riiight," Inuyasha stated, a bit cautious of this new character.

Kagome found him charming in an unusual and odd manner so, naturally, she was curious. "So who's winning?" she asked.

"I do believe that I do not know," Ikkarawashii answered.

"Then how do you know who's the winner?" Kagome was now a bit confused.

Ikkarawashii looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "The winner will be the one who makes it there first, causing the loser to come in after the winner. The winner will know if he is the winner when the loser comes in after."

Inuyasha grumbled. "Come on, Kagome! We don't have time for this. Let's just get going."

"I agree with Muttface over here." Kouga said.

"Hey!"

Miroku looked to Sango who shrugged her shoulders. This wasn't, after all, something that happened everyday.

Ayame, however, had a plan that would hopefully keep everyone happy. "Hey, Ikkarawashii," she got his attention, "Aren't you losing time now as we speak?"

The dog-eared boy blinked once, then twice before realizing that she was right. "I am sorry my friends, but I will have to lea-"

"Ik-kun? Is that you?" a voice sounded from overhead.

"Wazu?" Ik-kun figured it was his brother when there was no answer. "Why you dirty mongrel. You flea-bitten, mangy cad of a wolf. You come down here right this moment and we will settl-"

"Relax, Ik-kun. I just came by to tell you that I am going to win this wager. You can bet your ears on it."

"Hey! I like my ears, thank you very much." Ikkarawashii moved his hand up to his ears fondly. "And besides, you haven't met my new friends. This is…umm…well, and over here we have…er…my, I do believe that I do not know your names as of yet." he finished lamely, ears drooping.

Inuyasha glanced around the group with a look in his eyes that clearly said, 'Is there something really wrong with this guy?' and, 'Please, help.' Kagome smiled reassuringly at him before taking a step closer to Ikkarawashii, looking up at Wazu.

"Umm, Wazu, did you say your name was?" she asked with her usual happy charm.

"Why, hello there. I haven't given my name, but you can most certainly have it, pretty lady."

"M-my name's Kagome," she mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Name's Wazuryou. Hakussho Wazuryou and it is a pleasure to meet you," Wazu said as he jumped into the pit, landing beside Kagome. He took her hands in his and was about to say something else when he heard two different sets of growls. Glancing around the hole, he noticed the two that were 'warning' him. "I see," he said, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Kagome."

With that he moved a step away, indicating to Inuyasha and Kouga that he had meant no harm. Kagome just gave him a quizzical glance, clearly unaware of the happenings before her. "Umm…yeah, you too. Well, do you happen to know the way to the hall?" she asked, still a bit confused, but not bothering to push it.

Wazuryou shook his head sadly. "Alas, my lady, I cannot tell you which way seeing as I do not know myself. But if you would like to hear a proposition that I have?"

"Please tell," Kagome was hoping it was something that would get them to their destination without more incidents.

"We can travel as a group," Wazu started explaining. "That way, when one person finds it, all the others do as well."

Although a bit down heartened by his explanation, Kagome still returned his smile and turned to her original group, including Inuyasha and Miroku. "What do you guys think? I mean, we probably will do better with more people, right?"

"Whatever," Inuyasha muttered.

"Sounds like a good plan," Ayame rationalized.

Miroku nodded his head and Sango gave a small shrug, indicating that she could care less either way.

Kouga looked suspiciously at Wazu, but ended up nodding his head in agreement.

Looking to Rin and Shippo, Kagome realized that they weren't sure exactly what was going on (or they didn't care). She turned back to Wazuryou and answered, "Sure, we'd love to join you. But we should be heading back soon because I'm not really sure how long we've spent in this hole and I think we could all use a little break when we got back."

Wazu nodded and beckoned his brother. "It seems we will be traveling in each other's company, dear brother."

"Yes, it appears that way, doesn't it?" Ik-kun replied. They stood there, glaring, for a moment more before they were interrupted.

"I'm hungry," Shippo clutched his growling stomach.

* * *

After exiting the hole (Inuyasha, Kouga, Ayame, Wazuryou and Ikkarawashii had all helped to lift the others out), the introductions were made. As soon as everybody knew everybody else, they continued on their way, Kagome still taking most responsibility over the map (she didn't really trust anyone else to get them there safely). During their walk, Ik-kun and Wazu explained to whoever wanted to listen about how they were, like Inuyasha, both hanyou. The group now knew that they were half wolf demon, which supported the fact that they had wolf-like ears mounted atop their heads.

The twins looked almost like clones. Almost. There were a couple of differences, though you had to look closely to notice them. While Wazu had pitch black ears at the tips which faded to a russet at the base, Ik-kun's ears were marbled with black and chocolate brown. There was no pattern, really. Just a bunch of chocolate swirls mixed in with black.

Also, Ik-kun's eyes glinted a mischievous and lustrous gold, mirroring Inuyasha's eyes almost exactly. Wazuryou had more of an amber tinge in his eyes, making them seem copper, but looking just as impish as his brother's. Other than those two features, the Hakussho brothers looked like the identical twins that they were.

While trying to differentiate between the brothers, the other eight companions began to notice the bit of pain beginning to swell in their feet. If it was much further, the humans would have to stop and take a break.

This, however, wasn't a problem because right then a shoe fell from the sky and landed, none-too-softly, on Inuyasha's head causing him to curse loudly while rubbing it. "What the hell was that?" he asked, though no one seemed to have an answer. Inuyasha glared around the group, but decided it hadn't come from them.

His pondering was interrupted by a distant call of, "Sorry!" The companions looked up to where the voice was heard and spotted a figure high up in the trees. "Hello, down there." it called again.

"What _is_ that?" Shippo asked, leaning his head up as far as it would go without him falling over.

"Excuse me," it called. "But, can you help me get down from here? I seem to have gotten stuck."

"Umm…who are you?" Kagome asked, though she had a fleeting idea due to the familiarity of the voice. "Is that _you_, Hojo?"

"Kagome?" Hojo called down once again. "Thank the heavens. Do you think you could help me? I'm in a bit of a pinch, as you can see."

Sighing, Kagome faced the group. "Could somebody go up there and get him, please? I would really…appreciate it," she added through gritted teeth. When nobody volunteered, Kagome thought about leaving him, but figured that it wasn't even an option. She went over to Wazu and put on her best pouting face and glanced up at him with award-winning puppy dog eyes. "Would you mind, Wazu? It'd be really great if you-"

"Gone." Apparently Wazuryou couldn't resist and started jumping up the tree with lightning-quick speed, not even bothering to secure himself in any way. "Hey, Hoto. I'm here to get you down, so don't panic," Wazu explained as soon as he reached Hojo.

"It's Hojo, actually," he squeaked out, obviously intimidated by the larger male.

"Whatever," Wazu replied, smirking slightly, revealing his pointed fangs which caused Hojo to be even more uncomfortable. While Wazu was busy untangling Hojo's bag from the branch (Hojo was wearing a backpack and a branch got stuck between him and the bag), the sandy haired teen was rambling on about who knows what. Finally, Wazu was able to release Hojo's bag from the tree which, unfortunately, caused him to fall a good 40ft to the plummeting ground below.

Kagome shrieked as the boy fell, but Ik-kun was ready to catch him and he did so, just moments before touching down (sigh…we aren't so lucky). Kagome immediately ran over to Ikkarawashii and Hojo to make sure he was alright.

Although a little shaken, Hojo was able to stand. "I'm alright, Kagome. No need to worry…about…me." He was having a difficult time readjusting his breathing.

"You scared me to death," Kagome sighed and sat down on a stump. "How did you get up there anyway?"

"Oh, well, you see," the teen began explaining, forgetting about his precious experience, "I figured that I would be able to see far and wide if I could climb to the top of that tree," Hojo pointed, "And that it would be really easy to spot the camp from something that high."

"So, where is it?" Sango cut in.

"I'm don't know." Everyone sweat dropped.

Kagome was confused for the umpteenth time that morning. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I was about to reach the last branch, my foot slipped and I fell a few feet before my bag caught onto another branch. I had been hanging there for a good two hours before you showed up."

Kagome shook her head, _'Hopeless…'_

"So, you're basically saying that you climbed all the way up there and didn't find anything?" Inuyasha clenched his fist as a vein appeared on it.

"Yup," Hojo replied, not sensing any of the danger emitting from the inu-hanyou.

Kagome did, however, and immediately rushed over to him. "Ok, that's…umm, interesting, but we should be on our way." Then she whispered to Inuyasha, "Just leave it. He means no harm."

Letting out a final glare, Inuyasha "feh'd" and turned away. "Let's just get going then."

Kagome nodded and looked to everybody else in their group. They all seemed to want to go just as badly so, once again, Kagome checked the map and they headed off in what they hoped was the right direction.

Over the duration of the walk, Hojo revealed the reason he was alone. This was because he was too slow and the two others that he was with were just too quick for him. Kouga snickered when he began to verbally illustrate what they looked like. He, Kouga, knew the two had been Ginta and Hakkaku, his friends. Although he was aware of this, Kouga said nothing and continued to internally congratulate them on finding a way to innocently leave this guy behind.

Finally, after a while of Shippo talking non-stop, the trees began to thin and they found themselves walking on a trail. Following it for only 5 minutes led them to a large clearing, which revealed the location of the camp.

Said camp was a fairly large one, surrounded (for the most part) by forest. It was really beautiful in the eyes of the girls present (even the ever-silent Rin) and even the boys had to admit (if only to themselves) that it looked a lot nicer than what they had previously envisioned.

The trail, heading from the west, that they had exited the forest on led down a hill and towards a fair sized building. This building had a sign on which it said, "Main Office." It was located in the middle of the large clearing and had a larger building behind it. This was the mess hall. Their destination

To the east of the camp, at the edge of the clearing on the opposite side, were a number of small, homey-looking cabins. Also, at the very north of the camp was another building, though it was separated down the middle, making it look like two attached ones. These were the washrooms and were located a little ways north of the mess hall and main office. On either side of the washrooms was a trail that led into the woods (one heading northeast and the other northwest).

Standing atop the hill on the west side of the camp, the eleven companions stared in awe. It was magnificent and the smell wafting through the air made it even more delectable.

"Mm…Smells…so…good," Ik-kun had his delicate nose stretched into the air.

"I can smell…bacon," Inuyasha wasn't even attempting to stop himself from drooling, the smell was so overpowering.

Kagome looked from Ikkarawashii to Wazu to Kouga (who was also having a hard time looking dignified while, at the same time, savoring the unmistakable smell coming from the mess hall) to Inuyasha. "Goss," she pushed the latter lightly, causing him to cease his mindless mumbling and drooling.

They all made their way down the hill without acting like a bunch of hooligans in the process. But at the bottom, a thought struck Kagome. "You guys?" she asked for their attention, stopping abruptly.

"What is it now, wen- Kagome?" Inuyasha remembered the whole reason for her being mad at him in the first place. "Can't we talk after we eat?" he almost pleaded.

Kagome shook off the question with a wave of her hand and asked, "How well can you smell the food?"

Ik-kun grinned. "Well enough to tell you that they are serving pancakes with bacon and eggs. Hash browns and toast on the side. The syrup flavors are maple, blueberry, cranberry, raspberry, and strawberry. And for those of you who are daring, there is even some frosting sugar," he replied, lifting his nose now and then to catch the different scents. "Also, the juice types are orange, apple and cranberry or your choice of chocolate or white partly-skimmed milk."

Kagome sighed, receiving a bit more information than she was looking for. "So, you can smell it pretty well, then?"

"You bet!"

She turned to the other demons (youkai or hanyou) and they all nodded their agreement. "And how far away, would you say, are you able to catch the scents?"

Ikkarawashii was a little puzzled by her question, but answered anyway. "I would say…a good mile or two. Why?"

Kagome's eye began twitching.

Sango and Ayame joined her once they realized what she was getting at.

"You demons could have just used your noses to get us here rather than us trying to figure out the way on our own and you DIDN'T!" Kagome asked, just a little bit irritated.

Said demons glanced at each other and smiled nervously. "Hehehe…well, you see girls," they were backing away from the flaming Kagome and Sango, "We…er…didn't think about it and…umm…well, we're here now right?" It was Miroku who was doing the talking even though he wasn't even a demon.

After taking a few deep breaths, instructed by Ayame (who was also getting her tail pulled due to the fact that she was a demon), Kagome and Sango began to calm down. "I suppose," Sango said cheerily as she walked into the mess hall, smile and all. Kagome followed behind with Shippo and Rin in tow.

The others stood there, still a bit uneasy about going in, but when the doors opened, the irresistible scent came flying through and they had no choice but to enter. The wager between the Hakussho brothers was temporarily forgotten…as was Hojo, who stood outside the mess hall, still contemplating if Kagome had categorized him with the demons or not.

**To be continued…**

**A/N:** Another chapter done, though it turned out to be longer than I had figured. Oh well, right? Well, what did you think of this one? I already have plans for the next chapter and it should be up pretty soon. Thanks a bunch and always a pleasure. Please review.

Ankoku no Ookami

**Next Chapter:** Our friends have finally made it to the camp and are filling their bellies with pancakes and bacon. What does the afternoon have in store for them. A tour? Most likely. Introductions? You bet. And evil plots? Maybe, maybe not. Who's to know? Not me (at the moment) for I have not written it yet…but I do have ideas. Awful ideas. Wonderfully, awful ideas. So, if you want to know what they are, tune in next time!


	4. Welcome to Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.

**A/N:** Ahoy! I am terribly sorry for taking so long to update, but there's good news. I have made a map of the camp so that you have at least a clue of what I'm talking about. Just go to my homepage and click on my email address or ask in a review and leave me your email address. Justask me and I'll send you one. Thanks for your time!

**Reviews:** I would like to thank all reviewers.

Peace out!

**Camp of Unending Dreams**

**Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei**

_Chapter 4_

Welcome to Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei!

Upon entering the mess hall, the companions were surprised to see the majority of the camp already seated and eating. This could have been because they were held up a couple of times, but still. Being the last ones to arrive really put a damper on things.

The food, however, easily cleared away those depressing feelings. Making their way to a fairly unoccupied table, the group decided amongst themselves what delicious foods they would care to enjoy.

For Inuyasha, this meant everything on the menu (not literally meaning they have menus, just the fact that he was starving) as well as anything else he could mooch from the cook. Did I forget to mention the apple juice and icing sugar (not that he put it on anything…he just liked the taste, but not together).

Miroku decided upon having a plateful of steaming, hot pancakes, smothered in delicious raspberry syrup. Also, he wanted some bacon and chocolate milk (he didn't much like eggs). Topping it off with P.B&J toast and hash browns on the side, Miroku had one full meal.

In the mood for a fairly large lunch (brunch, I guess you could call it), Kagome leaned toward the whole bacon and eggs idea with a piece of toast on the side and a couple pieces of bacon. She also fancied a glass of partly-skimmed white milk.

Sango, on the other hand, went full-out for pancakes and bacon. She didn't care too much for toast and hash browns (or eggs, for that matter). Topping it off was an ice-cold glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Going for the more sophisticated 'bacon and eggs' trend like Kagome, Ayame also decided upon having a few pieces of toast and some hash browns as well. She couldn't go the morning without first having her supply of apple juice. It was a gift...and a curse.

Kouga didn't much care what he ate as long as it was food. He would've wolfed down anything that was put in front of him. This also went for Wazuryou and Ikkarawashii though they made sure to get their desired drinks. For Wazu, a glass of white milk with a bit of icing sugar in it and for Ik-kun the same, but with chocolate milk.

Rin, though still quiet, vouched for a good helping of pancakes and eggs, with a piece of toast on the side. She also had chocolate milk.

Shippo, loving chocolate milk as much as Rin, decided on having that, but with a load of bacon and hash browns. He had a couple pieces of toast as well.

Lastly was Hojo, who insisted on having whatever it was that Kagome wanted.

Finally, after everyone chose their items from the large buffet type of counter that separated the hall from the kitchen, they were able to sit down and eat. The seating arrangements went like this: (Side one, Left-Right) Ik-kun, Kouga, Kagome, Shippo, Sango and Hojo. (Side two, Left-Right) Ayame, Inuyasha, Miroku, Rin and Wazu.

After everybody was seated, they wasted no time in devouring their food. Though they were the last ones to enter the mess hall, they seemed to be the first ones done. Well, first servings anyway. While all the guys (save for Hojo and Shippo) were busy re-stuffing their faces, Kagome tried to start up a conversation between Sango and Ayame, but it was quite difficult due to the seating arrangements. Kagome ended up talking a bit more with Shippo (who was sitting beside her) and Rin (seated across from Shippo). Though Rin didn't talk much, she was always smiling. Kagome let her own smile show as Shippo explained his reason for being there.

It was really nice, she thought. Being able to spend time with your friends, talking about nonsense. Though Rin was now the only one listening to Shippo, he kept on as if the whole world were listening. Glancing around the table, Kagome realized that coming to this camp wouldn't be so bad after all. She could tell that there were good times ahead and she couldn't wait to experience them…even if it meant getting over the bad times.

She glanced up from her empty plate and her eyes locked with Inuyasha's for a split second before he quickly averted his gaze down to his own plate. Kagome looked away as well, but her eyes almost immediately met azure ones. Kouga grinned before chugging down the rest of his apple juice. Kagome smiled back and began scanning the table once again.

Inuyasha, after he was caught staring, found his food suddenly very interesting and began playing with his eggs, a slight blush playing across his cheeks. Although his head was down, Inuyasha was still able to see the smile on Kagome's face out of the corner of his eye. There was only one problem. It was caused by Kouga.

As Kagome watched everybody with interest, she noticed a couple odd happenings. First of all, Inuyasha was staring gloomily at his eggs while poking them with his fork. Secondly, Ik-kun and Kouga were talking rather abruptly to Ayame, cutting each other off every half-sentence. Ayame didn't seem to notice, but Kagome sure did. She smiled inwardly, but then sighed wearily. She just didn't seem to have luck with the opposite sex. Not that she had been considering either Kouga or Ik-kun, but generally speaking.

She momentarily wondered what it would be like to have more than one guy (Hojo not included) fighting over her. It seemed a far-off aspect, but she reveled in the idea no less. Caught up in her daydreams, Kagome hadn't noticed that Shippo was currently asking her a question or the fact that she was staring almost straight ahead…straight at Inuyasha.

"Hey, Kagome?" Shippo called again. He noticed that she was a bit zoned out and looked down her line of sight. Noticing Inuyasha at the end, Shippo sat there confused for a second. What was so interesting about Inuyasha? He took a closer look across Miroku to make sure the hanyou didn't have anything on his face or something like that. Not noticing anything (and still not understanding), Shippo turned to Kagome again.

"Kagome, why are you staring at Inuyasha?" This question caused both Inuyasha and Kagome to jump slightly and everyone else to look at what was going on.

Kagome saw as Inuyasha's head lifted. He looked directly at Kagome, who was now looking a bit flabbergasted at everyone looking at her. She was a severe shade of cherry red by the time she was able to get something out of her mouth.

"I…uh…umm…well, I wasn't staring, Shippo," she pointed out to the little boy. "I was…umm…"

"Then why were you looking at him with a funny expression on your face?" the child asked.

Kagome stole a glance at Inuyasha (though she wished after that she hadn't) and found him gazing expectantly at her. Kagome knew that unless she could think up something fast she would be 'mistaken' for staring at him. Knowing that she probably couldn't handle that, Kagome said the first thing that came to mind.

"I was…just, umm…wondering!" She finished exuberantly, having been proud of herself for at least saying something.

"Oh?" Let's just say the questioning glances were many in number.

"Y-yeah," Kagome mentally slapped herself. Now she would have to think up something else to lie about. Just great. After receiving a quizzical glance from Inuyasha she continued. "Well, I was just wondering…" the raven haired girl thought a moment, considering her options, "how you manage to get your hair to shine like that!" She finished her sentence with amazement in her voice as if that had been her question from the beginning.

Inuyasha pulled back and stared. He glanced at Miroku who had the same bewildered expression. Well, at least he wasn't hearing things.

"My hair?" the Inu-hanyou questioned. "You were wondering about my hair?" He asked as if it were an unreasonable request…which it wasn't…exactly. Odd, maybe…but not so much unreasonable.

"Yes. Please tell me your secret." Kagome 'pleaded.'

Throughout this, some sort of enlightenment dawned on Shippo and he decided to share it. "So, you were admiring him?" Shippo asked, though it was more of a confirmation.

Kagome let her head fall to the table. Why did everything she say have to be twisted to sound exactly opposite of what she had intended. She made up the excuse so that she wouldn't be pinned with staring at Inuyasha, but now they thought she had been admiring him. Sighing, Kagome stood up (face still a bit flushed) and took hold of all her dishes. She made her way wordlessly to the counter and placed them in their respective bins (forks, spoons, plates, cups, etc…). After she accomplished said task she returned to their table and grabbed her bag that she had previously placed underneath her chair.

"Uh…Kagome?" Sango asked skeptically as Kagome made her way to the double doors that served as another exit/entrance without a word of explanation. They were located on the north wall of the mess hall (as opposed to the west door that they had originally entered in). Sango glanced at Ayame who wore the same worried expression. They had both known Kagome for a while and thought that she was acting strange, but figured she just needed time to herself.

Feeling suddenly awkward, Kagome turned around only to find eyes gazing at her. And not just one or two pairs. There were 10. Everyone at their table was watching her curiously and it made Kagome a little uneasy. She sighed and fully faced her companions.

"Uh…" she started out, "I was just going outside for some fresh air…so, uh…see you guys in a few minutes." With that she once again turned towards the double doors and continued on her way. Once she arrived, Kagome pushed open one of the doors and disappeared into a blinding ray of sunlight.

On the other side, Kagome went and sat down at one of the six tables that were placed right outside the mess hall. She breathed deeply and placed her elbows on the table. After a few moments, she rested her head in her hands and thought about how much 'fun' she was going to have.

Inside, the table was silent for a moment after Kagome left. The awkwardness was disrupted, however, by shuffling. Everyone's head turned to the source of the noise and their eyes came upon Hojo who was trying to untangle himself from the bench, presumably to go after Kagome.

"Oh, no you don't," Sango stated as she pulled Hojo back down onto the bench after he managed to rise.

"But…I-"

"Need to give her some space," she finished for Hojo. The sandy-haired teen slumped down in defeat as movement began to commence once again.

Although Inuyasha was still confused about the whole hair thing, he didn't concern himself too much for almost as soon as Hojo was back in his seat, Inuyasha was devouring his meal. 'Act first, ask questions later' was his motto.

Miroku, all the while, continued his antics of trying to flirt with Sango. It didn't work too well, however, due to the fact that she was on the opposite side of the table and a couple people down. But, still, he tried and it's the thought that counts.

Kouga and Ik-kun had stopped biting each other's tails and were now conversing over how much more basketball rocked than any other sport. Ayame joined in every now and then, having some experience in that category.

Shippo continued to talk to Rin who, still not saying much, was clearly listening and was responding with expression.

Wazuryou, like Inuyasha, continued to inhale his food until there was nothing edible left on his plate.

A few minutes after Kagome left, Kaede entered through the side (west) door and called everyone's attention. The room went silent after a few moments and all eyes were on the old lady.

She cleared her throat before beginning. "Now I know ye are all excited for the coming events this summer, but ye must first learn what is to be expected of ye throughout the duration of thy stay here. None of that now," she scolded as half the room grumbled and groaned their protest. "Now," Kaede continued, "First of all…"

Surprisingly, the whole 'Learning the rules' speech took only about 5 minutes and consisted of the usual camp rules. These including anything from no fighting to respecting property and other people. To say the least, everyone was glad it didn't turn out to be a long, twenty-minute speech.

"So, that leaves us with the afternoon plans," Kaede finished another annual 'talk' and was ready for the next part of the day. "Now we will tour the camp grounds so that ye can have a chance to see where thy courses are and where ye will sleep. If I could please get everyone to put thy dishes away if ye hadn't already and assemble thyself outside the Hall and follow me to our first destination," she stated more than asked as everybody in the mess hall began to gather their dishes and bags.

Ayame and Sango tried to make it out quickly to confirm that Kagome was okay. They finally were able to make it outside and noticed Kagome sitting alone at a table. They moved over to her.

"Hey," Ayame greeted, sitting next to her friend. "S'up?"

Kagome lifted her head from her hands and looked to her two closest friends. They were both smiling brightly at her, making it difficult to stay so isolated. Sighing, Kagome returned their smiles and replied, "Not much. So, what did I miss?"

Sango glanced at Ayame who wore the same bright, knowing expression. Their Kagome was back and it felt like old times again. "Well, you missed the most important part…" She notified Kagome, sounding completely serious. Kagome looked intrigued, but didn't seem too worried.

Ayame caught on quickly. "Yeah, I mean they were sorting us into groups and everything." The red-headed girl smirked inwardly when she received the expected reaction from Kagome and decided to take it a bit further. "Oh," she put on her best downhearted face, "But because you weren't there…You weren't put into one."

Kagome stared on in shock. She didn't think leaving would have been that big a deal. She started having breathing problems when she thought about having to leave her best friends and go home to spend the summer alone.

When Ayame and Sango noticed that their friend was hyperventilating, they decided to fess up. "Uh, Kagome?" Ayame looked worriedly to Sango.

The brunette girl sat down beside Kagome and explained, "Kagome, they didn't do the sorting yet."

"Wh-what?"

"We were, uh…just playing around when we said that you missed out. Sorry, we didn't mean any harm," she added, seeing enlightenment dawn on Kagome's face.

Kagome, however, was too relieved to be angry. She released a great, big sigh and said, "Thank goodness." Ayame herself sighed with relief when she realized Kagome wasn't mad or anything.

By now, everyone from inside had found their way out and were waiting somewhat patiently for Kaede. When receiving a questioning glance from Kagome, the girls quickly explained what went on inside.

Inuyasha and Miroku managed to squeeze their way outside and were currently swinging their bags at each other, seeing who could hit harder and who could dodge faster. They, apparently, didn't mind waiting for the old lady that was taking her own, sweet time.

Kouga detached himself from their little group when the announcement to leave the mess hall was made. He headed outside and quickly found Ginta and Hakkaku. They caught up on missed events and Kouga was re-informed of the prank they pulled on 'some poor, weak kid.'

While all of this was going down, Ikkarawashii and Wazuryou had brought up the once-forgotten topic of the bet. Both, naturally, claimed that they had won and that the other should face the wrath of dying their ears hot pink. They continued to banter until attention was called to Kaede once again.

"Would ye all make sure that everything ye brought is with ye now and that none of thee is forgetting anything," she asked, waiting a minute as shuffling was heard before continuing. "Now, we will make our way to the front of this building here," she motioned towards the cubic building that was situated in front of the mess hall, "and then we will start the tour." With that, the whole lot of kids and teens began to surge their way towards the front of the indicated building.

Once situated there, everybody waited for their next set of orders. After only a moment, Kaede appeared, though this time accompanied by a few other people. Calling everyone's attention, Kaede cleared her throat. "Hello, again. I would like to commence with the tour as soon as possible, but first I would like to introduce a handful of the staff working here. This is the girl's councilor, Kaguya." All attention was turned to a young woman with long, black hair. She nodded her acknowledgement and Kaede continued. "Kaijinbo here will be the boy's councilor. And Tokajin, Totosai and Jinenji will be around doing a different assortment of jobs. Ye can all learn a bit more about each other at a later time, but right now we will continue on with the tour."

**(-: Please contact me for map of camp ..)**

After the last word exited Kaede's mouth, a cheer erupted from the children. It was full of enthusiasm and almost promised to be as exceptional a year as before.

Almost.

With Kaede in the lead, the large mass began it's tour. They first started out right where they were standing. The building that they were standing in front of was the main office, thus the sign, 'Main Office.'

"This is where ye can find me most of the time if need be. I file and write up the paperwork for ye to be here. Also, I hold everyone's contact information," Kaede added, eying the kids, "So make sure you behave." The campers subconsciously nodded their understanding.

After the main office came the mess hall.

"And as ye already know, this is the Hall," Kaede explained. She walked up the steps and opened the door, disappearing into the almost-empty hall. Everyone looked a bit skeptical, but relief came a moment later when the old lady reappeared. This time, however, she had a small man in tow.

"Children, attention, please. This is the head cook, Myoga." The tiny man that she had in her grasp was grumbling about something or other. "He has assistants that he would like to introduce, doesn't he?" Kaede looked warningly at Myoga, who heaved a defeated sigh.

"Oh, if I must," Myoga acquiesced. "You in there!" He called through the door. "Get out here." Four people came to Myoga's call and he cleared his throat. "This is Onigumo. That would be Urasue. Over here we have Goshinki and last, but not least, the lovely Tsuyu. Is that everyone?" He asked no one in particular. "Good." And with that he turned to leave, but was stopped by Kaede. Sighing, he turned around and said, "I hope you all enjoy your summer vacation here (don't even think about discriminating the food) and have a great day." He turned around and went back into the mess hall.

Kagome poked Sango in the ribs. "Gee, I can tell that comes from the heart," she muttered sarcastically as they made their way to the large building that was situated, in the west corner, beside the northwest path. Sango laughed in response and poked Ayame in the ribs to tell her.

Miroku 'happened' to be looking that way and noticed the girls poking each other in the side. So, naturally, he had the brilliant idea to try it. Looking over to make sure Inuyasha wasn't paying attention to him, Miroku lifted his pointer finger to chin level, a look of extreme determination in his eyes. Without a second thought, Miroku thrust his finger straight at Inuyasha. It was a direct hit right between the ribs.

Inuyasha felt a sharp pain in his side and flinched while throwing out his elbow. Said limb hit Miroku square between the eyes. Inuyasha turned to the direction the poke came from when his elbow came in contact with something very hard. He laughed when he saw Miroku clutching his face in pain.

"That's what you get for poking me!" Inuyasha just laughed some more, Miroku grumbling the whole time. He was definitely _not_ going to try another 'girl' thing again.

Arriving at their destination, Kaede silenced the crowd. "This is what we call…well, it doesn't really have a name," Kaede confessed," But inside contains four different rooms. First, we have a storage room on the left. It is fairly large and consists of sports balls, nets, clubs, bats, rackets, etcetera. Also there is the equipment needed for games and such. Outside there are two basketball courts, a tennis/badminton court and enough grass for a couple soccer fields.

"The storage room inside is connected to the indoor gymnasium, which is also on the left. Now, over on the right side of the recreational building we first have the art studio. It is a large, naturally-lit room with many work tables and storage.

"Beyond that, still on the right, is the music room. This room is large enough to hold all of the camp's instruments and the students playing them." Kaede was interrupted by a chorus of, "Wow's," and, "No way's." She decided it would be best to cut the speech short and just let the kids have a look for themselves.

"Now, everyone inside, please. Single file!" She called, trying to get them desperately to listen. "Try not to touch anything," Kaede warned as the kids pushed their way inside the rather large building. She sighed and followed after.

The first room to the left was just a storage room, so they moved to the one on the right. Once everybody was inside the studio, Kaede made her way to the counter that had somebody standing beside it. "This, children," she heard many protests to being called children, but chose to ignore it, "Is the arts and crafts teacher, Nobunaga." Said teacher waved to the kids who looked skeptically back.

"As ye can see, this is the art studio and it is very bright and open," Kaede stated, gesturing with a wave of her arm. As more and more people began to look around the room, they noticed that the wall between them and the outside was mainly windows. It was hard to notice at first because it looked so natural that they had just overlooked it. Overall, the room was quite aesthetically pleasing.

"Thanks, Nobunaga," Kaede whispered to the man before continuing, "And now we will make our way to the gymnasium." Said room was large in size (very large) and looked to be in mint condition. It looked really well kept, the hardwood floors shining brightly as proof. Kaede quickly introduced the gym instructor, Naraku (whom everyone thought was creepy), and exited the gym without any further ado.

"And last, but not least," she began, motioning to the door across from the gym, "Is the music room." Everyone seemed to be interested in this room.

Miroku turned to Inuyasha. "What d'ya think?" he asked, gesturing towards the room that they were about to enter. Inuyasha shrugged in response, making his way inside.

Once everyone was inside, Kaede began, "This has been one of the most enjoyed features here at Itsumademo Yume. We introduced it a couple years back and have received very reputable comments. Ye should all enjoy this program that we have seeing as everyone is partnered with a compatible instrument."

Kouga nudged Ginta. "Do you believe this crap?" he asked quietly. Ginta snickered and shook his head. Hakkaku, on the other hand, seemed to like the idea of learning an instrument. Kouga and Ginta looked to him, then to each other before shaking their heads in disappointment.

Ayame had both of her arms linked with Sango and Kagome's (her being in the middle). "This looks so…cool," she said, mesmerized.

"Yeah, it looks like fun," Kagome put in.

Sango looked around a minute before adding her own two cents.

"I wanna try the drums!"

Inuyasha shook his head at his friends…immaturity. "If you wanna try the drums, try 'em," he stated simply.

Miroku pouted. "But we're probably being assigned according to what the teacher says. By the way, where _is_ the teacher?" He looked around the room and, as if on cue, a tall man came walking through a door that looked like it lead to a small office.

"Ah, and here he is!" Kaede was finally able to introduce the music teacher due to the fact that he was finally there. "This will be thy music instructor, Ryuukotsusei."

Said man grinned at the introduction and grabbed a guitar from a nearby stand. It was a simple classical guitar, but when he started playing, everyone was listening intently. It sounded like a guitar solo for somebody's recorded song. There was no denying it; Ryuukotsusei was good.

After he finished the Mexican tune, Ryuukotsusei cleared his throat. "I, as you are already aware of, am Ryuukotsusei and I will help you develop the talents that you already have." When he heard protesting, Ryuukotsusei held up a hand and all was silent again. "You all do have talent; You just don't know where it lies," he stated with a grin. "Now, I don't want to see you until you have lessons so, be gone with you!"

Kaede laughed and herded the kids outside once again. Once out, she paused and looked to the basketball courts. There, a large, strong-looking man was practicing his hoops and was too preoccupied to notice them. "Royakan over there," she gestured towards the man, "is the games coordinator. He is the one seeing to it that ye always have something to do, even after the courses are finished with. Mostly, he handles the games. Ye will all meet him soon enough."

Kaede once again began walking, the rest of the camp following suit. She showed them the washrooms when walking by and explained that there were showers in them. The girls were sighed in relief as the boys shrugged.

After the washrooms came some cabins. They were the ones that were visible from the hilltop leading from the woods. These, however, were not for them, Kaede pointed out. These were the councilor's cabins and no kids were allowed in them.

They passed by those cabins quickly enough, there being no reason for them to be there long, and made their way up the northeast trail (on the right side of the washrooms). After a minutes walk, they came upon a clearing of some sort. Ahead were tables and a concession stand and to their right was a beautiful, large lake. Seirei Lake.

Kaede pointed out that this was where they would be swimming and that it was, in fact, a very clean lake. And who would doubt it, with the turquoise water shining as brightly as it was. Also, to everyone's joy, there was a dock. It went out a good 25, maybe 30, feet.

Once everyone's shock dissipated, Kaede called out to a figure in the water. Said person waved their acknowledgement and began making their way to the shore. During this time, she showed them the concession stand, where a bored-looking employee was serving himself up a cool glass of lemonade.

"Menomaru is the concession worker. He will usually be here if ye want something from the concession," Kaede explained. Just then, the figure made its way to the shore and revealed itself. "Ah, here he is," she said. "Children," once again with the grumbling protests, "this is the swimming instructor, Musou."

A dark-haired man emerged from the water's edge. "Hey there!" he greeted, grabbing a towel from the near end of the dock. "They're finally here, hey?" he asked Kaede while trying to dry his mass of hair. "Well, good luck," he said as he made his way to the north end of the lake where there was a couple more buildings.

Kaede nodded and moved in that direction as well. The campers followed her.

"This," she motioned towards the larger of the two buildings, "Is the boathouse. It is where we keep the canoes and paddleboats, along with lifejackets, paddles and other such materials. This smaller one is the changing rooms." With that information said, Kaede moved on.

They headed due west and came upon a large, circular gathering of benches and wooden stumps. "This is the fire pit. We light it up every so often to hold little get-togethers and relaxation periods."

Moving on to the next part of the tour, Kaede noticed that they seemed excited about the lake and fire pit. She sighed and continued on. They passed a clearing that had more cabins in it and headed south down a path. Said path branched off onto another path. They took this one and it led them to a large, clean clearing. The kids saw targets at the other end and figured out that they were probably at the archery range.

Kaede told them so and introduced the shooting instructor, Tsubaki, before exiting down the same path that they had come. Once they got onto the original path, Kaede turned right and headed north again. Looking south, the campers noticed that the path was the one between the bathrooms and the recreational building that led northwest.

The camp was a big circle, with the archery course in the middle, they figured out while making their way back up the path to where they had just recently seen the cabins. This is where Kaede stopped and turned to them.

"These, as ye may have guessed, are the cabins that ye will be staying in. I hope ye enjoy yer stay in them," she said as Jinenji came up the path carrying a clipboard. "Thank ye, Jinenji," Kaede took the board and called the kids' attention once again. "Before ye go running to choose what cabins ye get, ye must listen first. Now I want ye all to get into groups of four without fighting. If ye can't do this in an appropriate manner, I will choose for ye. Now, off ye go, but make sure ye are all around the same age."

It took a couple of minutes of confusion before the groups were decided. Kaede looked them over quickly and nodded. "I will give ye all yer cabins and schedules and ye can go and unpack," she notified them and turned to a page on her clipboard.

There were 12 cabins (6 for girls and 6 for guys). They were 2x6, so there were two rows with 6 cabins in each row. The girls had the far row, meaning that the boys got the close one.

The arrangements went like this (1A being the bottom of the girl's row and 1F being the top. 2A- bottom of boy's row, 2F-top):

1A- Kikyo, Yura, Kagura, Taizon 2A- Shippo, Bunza, Jaken, Taromaru

1B- Suzuna, Satsuki 2B- Inuyasha, Miroku, Kouga, Hojo

1C- Serina, Nazuna, Zureigo, Koharu 2C- Hiten, Manten, Kamori, Ryoukai

1D- Kagome, Sango, Ayame, Kiara 2D- Satoru, Ikussou, Sacchoku

1E- Rin, Mayu, Shiori, Souten 2E- Ginta, Hakkaku, Wazuryou, Ikkarawashii

1F- Momiji, Botan, Ruri, Hari 2F- None

Kaede gave each group a schedule and sent them off on their way. Everyone went scrambling, calling out dibs on which bunks they wanted.

Kagome stated racing Ayame to their cabin, but was passed by Sango. All three of them burst into their cabin, laughing the entire time. They saw the two separate bunk beds on the left side of the room. Straight across was a door with a small porch out back. On the right side of the cabin near the door was a couch and two chairs with a table between them. In the far right corner was a shelving unit with open and closed shelves and cabinets. There was also a small table beside the door.

The three girls were still admiring their new home for the next month and a half when an unknown girl came through the door. "Umm…hi," she said. "My name's Kiara and I am supposed to be in this cabin. I'm assuming you guys are my bunkmates?"

Kagome smiled at the newcomer. "It would seem so, Kiara. My name is Higurashi Kagome and this is Shuzokashii Sango," Kagome indicated to Sango, "And this is Kusamajii Ayame-"

"A wolf demon," Kiara noted. Ayame nodded her assent and noticed an inhuman scent on Kiara. "I, myself, am a lynx demon," she smiled at Ayame. "It's nice to meet all of you." Sango sighed with relief. At least they had a nice, if interesting, bunkmate. The four of them decided to sit down for a while and talk to get to know each other better.

Inuyasha raced Miroku to their cabin and rushed through the door. Although he won, he was also the first one to fall over Hojo who was standing right in front of the door, not knowing what to do.

They both ended up getting tangled together (bags and everything) by the time Miroku showed up. Apparently he had seen pretty ladies outside and had stopped to chat. He sighed when he entered the cabin. After placing his bag beside the door and making sure it was out of the way, he made his way over to the struggling Inuyasha and whimpering Hojo. "Sit still, both of you," he commanded as he attempted to untangle them. It was quite a feat and took a whole 5 minutes.

During that time, Kouga had been talking to Ginta and Hakkaku. They hadn't managed to get in the same group due to some strange, new friendship between the two wolf demons and the Hakussho brothers. Which means they dropped Kouga like a rock.

Fortunately, Kouga was pretty solitary and decided not to make a big fuss about it. After all, that hanyou was pretty close with Kagome (who he had the slightest crush on), so he might as well go with them.

But now, they were discussing their 'plan'. Their first prank of the summer (at camp) was going to be great and they couldn't wait to put it into play. Kouga snickered as he made his way to the cabin that he would be sharing with the Mutt, the Mutt's friend, and that Hogo guy (he was the last one and no one else would accept him).

He arrived to a cabin filled with yelling and cowering (on Hojo's part). They were apparently fighting over which bunks they wanted ,which turned out to not even be the same one. He laughed at their antics and walked over to the furthest bunk bed and threw his bag onto the bottom one before doing the same with himself.

This caused everybody to stop their yelling and fighting. The three of them looked to each other for a moment before all scrambling to get their bunk. Turns out, Inuyasha and Miroku got to the ones they wanted (Inuyasha's being the top corner above Kouga and Miroku's being the other top bunk) and Hojo didn't exactly have a preference. He had just wanted to get out of the way.

With everything settled, the four teens decided to just kick back, relax and listen to music. Miroku jumped off his bunk and switched on the radio that was sitting on the empty shelf in the corner of the cabin. The song, 'Pinch Me' by the Barenaked Ladies was playing on whatever station it happened to be on. Miroku sighed. Well, at least it was a summery kind of song.

In the girls' cabin things were going much smoother. After they finished talking about themselves a bit, they all decided to choose bunk beds. This only took a minute for they were very lenient about it. Kagome ended up taking the far bottom with Sango on top. Kiara had the bottom of the close bunk with Ayame up top. They all seemed fairly pleased with themselves.

Turns out, Kiara had a lot in common with the girls and they all got along like natural-born sisters. It wasn't long before Ayame found the stereo and they were listening to one of Kiara's CD's, dancing like there was no tomorrow while unpacking some of their things. The current song playing was 'Riot Girl' by Good Charlotte. It was a very upbeat song and they all moved in time with it.

Wazuryou and Ikkarawashii chose the closest set of bunks to the door. Their theory? Simple. You never know when you need to escape without warning. They found no point in unpacking their bags, but realized that the hair dye was in one of them…somewhere.

Their task to find the pink hair dye lasted only about 3 minutes due to the fact that their search consisted of mainly throwing clothes, toothbrushes, etc. throughout the room until they came across a hot pink bottle.

Although they found it, Ik-kun and Wazu still didn't know who had one the bet. They were in the middle of a heated debate when Hakkaku and Ginta walked in.

"Hey guys. What's up? That's good and- Is that pink hair dye!" Hakkaku asked in amazement. "Ginta, look! Pink hair dye!"

Ginta ran over to where Hakkaku was making such a fuss. However, when he caught a glimpse of it, Ginta too started to act a bit unusually. "Here, Wazu," he said, holding out his hand. It was shaking with anticipation. "Give it here."

"What?" Hakkaku seemed to disagree with the fact that Ginta would have pink hair dye instead of him. "I want it! Give it to me, Wazu!" he demanded while trying to hold Ginta back.

Wazuryou looked on as Ginta and Hakkaku fought over who was going to have the pink hair dye. He then glanced to Ikkarawashii. Their eyes locked for an eternal moment before…

Ik-kun dived for Wazu, not holding anything back. "Wazu! Give it here!"

"Not on your life!" Wazuryou answered, holding Ik-kun's head in one hand while the other (with the dye) was stretched as far away as possible. "You're not getting it! I want it!"

"NO! I want it more!" Ikkarawashii wasn't going to give up without a fight. They tackled each other around the room, rolling over couches and people. (Said people being Ginta and Hakkaku.)

Finally, Wazu managed to crawl under the bunk beds and was sitting on the hair dye in the corner of the room. "You won't get it from me, Ik-kun," he wheezed.

Wazu's twin crouched down in front of the bed. "Why not! I want it just as much…as…you…" Enlightenment struck Ikkarawashii as he crouched down there. "Wazu, you dolt," he scolded, "There's enough for both of us in that bottle if all we want to do are our ears."

The expression of deep thought crossed Wazuryou's face as he considered what his brother had just told him. He nodded (hitting his head on the bottom bunk) and cautiously made his way out from underneath. Once out, the two brothers snickered and ran off in the direction of the washrooms.

Ginta and Hakkaku ceased their roughhousing and watched on in horror as Wazu and Ik-kun left with their beloved hair dye.

"NO!" Ginta hollered, Hakkaku's hair still locked in his tight grip.

Hakkaku hung his head. "The opportunities," he choked out. "Oh, what we could have accomplished! Think about it, Ginta! So many people…pink hair dye! Oh, the humanity! Think of all the opportunities!" Ginta just nodded is agreement, too depressed for words.

Sango smiled to herself as she laid back on her bunk, having just finished laying out her sleeping bag. They finished unpacking their toiletries and other small items on the shelves, each girl receiving their own closed cabinet for whatever they so chose. Their duffel bags were pushed underneath the bottom bunks so that they were out of the way. Each girl unrolled their sleeping bag on their respective bunk and were currently relaxing, either on their bed or on the couch.

Ayame was sitting in the Converse Corner (they named it that due to how it was being put to use) with Kiara and they were discussing the topic of different sports. Sango was relaxing on her bunk, drifting off to the sound of Simple Plan's, 'When I'm with you' flowing through her ears. Kagome sat on the front porch reading a book that she had brought with her keeping the door open so she could hear the music. It was a relaxing period for the four of them, but they had forgotten to check their schedule even though Sango remembered placing it on the table beside the door. Oh well. They would just have to wait.

Deciding to unpack later, or not at all, Inuyasha stuffed his bag underneath the bunk he was sharing with Kouga and threw his sleeping bag up top. He then sat on one of the chairs in the corner of the room and began tapping his foot in time with the music. It was 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus.

Miroku figured he would have fun throwing marshmallows at Hojo while Kouga slid banana peels under his squirming feet. The marshmallows Miroku packed with him, but the banana peels, well…Kouga apparently likes bananas. This cabin was entertained pretty easily, to say the least.

Hakkaku and Ginta quickly got over their 'lost opportunities' and began running around their cabin…literally. One or the other would start out and run out the back door, jump over the porch railing, run around the building and up the front steps, tagging the other so that they could go. This little game lasted them quite a while until they decided it needed more competition and decided to race instead.

Wazuryou and Ikkarawashii were still missing.

Around 7pm, Kaguya and Kaijinbo asked the camp to make their way over to the fire pit for some social activities before turning in. Everyone gladly acquiesced. Well, everyone save for Kagome anyway. She was reading the whole time she could have been resting and she was now too tired to move her own legs. Sango, Ayame and Kiara managed to convince her to get up and follow them to the Pit where everyone else had accumulated.

Kagome just followed them and sat where she was told. Fatigue overcame her body and she struggled to keep her eyes open. The four of them sat down at the newly kindled fire, huddling together to keep warm. Although it was summer, the nights could still get a little chilly.

Coming upon the area covered in benches and stumps, Miroku was debating on where to sit. All was decided, however, when he caught site of Sango sitting with her little group, though now there was an unknown girl there as well. Shrugging, he made his way over to her.

Behind him, Inuyasha snorted, but followed anyway. They came upon the group and Inuyasha was so not going to be the one talking. He looked away when his friend looked at him, as though he found his surroundings interesting.

Miroku shook his head and turned to the girls. "Hello, ladies. And how was your lovely afternoon?" he asked with one of his characteristic smiles. The girls subconsciously returned his smile, save for Kagome who was practically sleeping.

"Well, I would say it actually went pretty good," Ayame answered for them, receiving nods from her bunkmates.

Miroku nodded and decided to continue when he heard Inuyasha sigh impatiently behind him. "Sounds good. So, who might this lovely, young lady be?" he walked over to her.

"I am Kiara. Rinkuza Kiara," she answered for herself while holding out her hand.

Miroku took it, but instead of shaking it he kissed it gently. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kiara," he said, still with her hand in his. She blushed deeply and Miroku pulled away. "Well, I believe you should meet Inuyasha here and let us take a seat," Miroku laughed as he pulled the hanyou forward. "My dear, Kiara, this is Inuya-"

After shoving Miroku, Inuyasha introduced himself, "My name is Tsuyaku Inuyasha and yours is Rinkuza Kiara. Nice to meet you." He made their introduction short, sweet and to the point. Kiara nodded.

Miroku then clapped his hands together. "So, would you lovely ladies mind if we joined you?" he asked hopefully.

Ayame raised an eyebrow. "From what I understand," she began, "you can sit wherever you want."

Miroku grinned. "Well, in that case, I would like to sit right here," he stated as he squeezed in between a half-dozing Kagome and a surprised Sango. "What do you think?" he asked the latter as he draped his arm over her shoulder.

"I think," Sango pushed his arm away, "you should keep your hands to yourself." Miroku held up his hands innocently.

Inuyasha seemed confused about where to sit. Sure, it didn't really matter, but still…

"Hey, Yash. Grab some bench," Miroku snapped him from his current train of thought. He glanced beside him and grew aware of Inuyasha's predicament. "Well, do someone else a favor, if not for you," he said, trying to help his friend out a bit. "Sit on the other side of Kagome. She's shivering."

"Oh no!" Sango's hands flew up to her mouth. "I completely forgot. She was tired, but we made her come anyway. I'm such an idiot! She must be freezing-"

"Calm down," Inuyasha told her, though he started to internally freak out when he moved to sit down beside her. "It's…no…no big…deal," he managed to get out, convincing himself of the same thing the entire time. Finally, he got his body to do what he told it and he was sitting beside Kagome…almost a foot away.

"The only thing you're keeping warm like that is the bench," Miroku stated to Inuyasha who was debating on how close to sit. The hanyou's head shot up when he heard Miroku and he noticed everyone watching him.

"What!"

Sango sighed exasperatedly. "Look, Inuyasha. I know you probably don't want to repeat the events from this morning, but please just keep her warm. I would really rather not have to take her back to the cabin right now. Please," she pleaded to him with her best puppy dog eyes.

Inuyasha glanced up at Miroku who was giving him a death glare that clearly stated, 'If you make her move I will personally make your life miserable.' Sango was currently leaning over Miroku to look at Inuyasha and she was snuggling up against him a bit due to the cold.

Miroku knew that Inuyasha would be glaring at him now if it weren't for everybody else. He sighed, relieved. Miroku knew that Inuyasha would do it.

As proof of this, the hanyou nodded to Sango and scooted closer to Kagome. He noticed as everybody's attention turned elsewhere and he looked to the girl that was once again sleeping next to him. A shiver wracked her frail body and Inuyasha removed his hoodie, wrapping it around her. Kagome snuggled closer to his warmth and mumbled something in her sleep.

Inuyasha sighed contentedly, watching the orange-red tongues of the fire reach up into the sky as he wrapped his arm around Kagome's shoulders.

The spectacle that everyone's attention had previously turned to was the return of the Hakussho brothers. They walked into the clearing surrounding the Pit, looking quite pleased with themselves.

Ginta and Hakkaku, who had been sitting their talking to Kouga for a while, burst out laughing. Kouga looked amused and confused.

Ginta was clutching his stomach while hitting Hakkaku with his free hand. "You…you see…that!" he asked through bursts of laughter. "They…" more laughing, "they saved us…the trouble!" He was obviously referring to the idea of pranking somebody by putting pink hair dye in their hair.

"What?" Ik-kun and Wazu asked at the same time. They looked to each other and shrugged their shoulders in unison.

Miroku, Sango, Kiara and Ayame's attention was clearly fixed on the brothers. Then Ayame, too, burst out laughing. "What did you dolts do?" She pointed to their ears and started laughing some more.

Kiara looked confusedly from the brothers to Ayame. She then looked to Sango who was trying to hold in her laughter. "I'm assuming their ears aren't normally that color," she stated.

Miroku just shook his head and sighed.

After Ikkarawashii and Wazuryou sat down and everybody was finished making fun of their ears (which they couldn't even remember the reason for dyeing), the rest of the evening seemed to trickle by soothingly. Kouga, upon seeing Kagome sleeping against Inuyasha and deciding not to wake her, moved to sit by Ayame and Kiara who were currently sitting by themselves.

Everybody sat by the fire, relaxing for the rest of the evening until the time came when they were called to get to their separate cabins. Miroku walked Sango to her cabin as Kouga did Ayame and Kiara. Inuyasha ended up carrying Kagome to hers handed her off to Ayame and Sango when he arrived there.

'Lights out' was called at 10 and Inuyasha lay in his bed thinking about how he was grateful that she hadn't woken up. It would have hurt too much.

**To be continued…**

**_A/N:_** Whew! Well, I finally got this chapter up. And once again, I am so sorry that it took so long. I'll try to make it worth the wait by having the next chapter up soon. Sorry you guys and thanks for reading. Remember, email me for a map. Always a pleasure.

Ankoku no Ookami

**_Next Chapter:_** I plan on writing their first day of actual camp. There will be courses, lessons and hopefully some swimming! Oh, and I have a surprise planned for one of the future chapters! Yay! So, tune in next time.


	5. Headstrong

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any other characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.

**A/N: **Ahoy! How is everyone? Hopefully you're all doing good. Well, anyway I just wanted to apologize once again for not updating my last chapter sooner and thank you to everyone who is still reading this fic. I don't really have much to say, so please enjoy and criticism is welcomed (though good criticism is better than bad). Thanks for your time.

**Reviews: **I would like to thank all reviewers.

Peace out!

**Camp of Unending Dreams**

**Itsumademo Yume no Bakuei**

_Chapter 5_

Headstrong

_Knock Knock_

Groaning was heard from inside the cabins as Kaguya and Kaijinbo went down the rows knocking on every door. It was 7 o'clock in the morning on what promised to be a beautiful Tuesday. The second day of camp.

Kagome yawned before sitting up and stretching. She glanced at the clock almost screamed out loud, but remembered the other people in the room. It was 7am and they expected her to get up? Oh, well. She wasn't all that tired anyway.

Sighing loudly, Kagome pulled herself from her sleeping bag and…wait. Her sleeping bag? She didn't remember crawling into it the previous night so how come she was in it now? She noticed that she had her pajamas on. Remembering the events of the day before (from when she was awake), Kagome decided that Ayame and Sango must have brought her back to the cabin.

Shrugging, Kagome got out of bed and moved over to the stereo to turn it on. She turned the volume down and began getting her things ready for the rest of the day. On her way out, Kagome made sure to wake up her bunkmates so they would have time to get ready for breakfast. Kiara had already been awake, but didn't actually want to get out of her bed.

Once out the door, Kagome made her way to the bathrooms, a bundle of clothing and toiletries resting in her arms. She explored for a minute before placing her things in a small cubbyhole. Grabbing her towel, shampoo and conditioner, Kagome made her way into one of the showers and locked the door.

The washroom had about 5 stalls, 3 sinks and 6 showers. Said showers were separated just as the stalls were, with walls all around, save for the front which had a large door. Also, there was a wall committed to cubbyholes for whomever was in there and needed to put their things somewhere.

Kagome savored the warm water and thought about the day ahead.

Jumping from his bunk, Inuyasha cursed the camp once again. After making sure to jump on Kouga's bunk on the way down, he got to his knees and started searching through his duffel bag for something to wear.

Miroku 'accidentally' landed on Hojo while trying to dismount from the top bunk the same way Inuyasha did. He didn't succeed too well seeing as he ended up laying dazed on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Inuyasha 'nudged' him with his foot on the way out. He left the cabin only wearing his boxers.

Ikkarawashii yawned and stretched before jumping out of bed and yelling, "WAKE UP!" super loudly while running outside. He was going to go to the washroom to get changed, but…he didn't bring his clothes.

Wazuryou jumped up with a start. He glanced around the room, but saw only a swinging door. Hanging his head down below his bunk, Wazu noticed Ik-kun not in his bed. He growled and jumped down while at the same time trying to run towards the door. He managed to get out the door unhurt for the most part, but, just as his brother had, he completely forgot about his clothes. And his ears.

Sango managed to climb out of bed and, along with Ayame and Kiara, made her way to the showers, but when the three arrived, the showers were all taken. They, however, only had to wait a couple of minutes.

Kagome exited the shower with her towel wrapped around her body and her hair up in a messy bun. She greeted her friends and grabbed her clothes to get changed. The raven haired girl emerged from the bathroom wearing white shorts and a green tank top. Her hair was hanging around her shoulders, still wet.

Kagome was just making her way around the building when WHAM!

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Kagome heard an angry, familiar voice yell. She looked up from the ground where she had fallen and saw that it was, in fact, Inuyasha. "Oh," he said, apparently just noticing that it was Kagome. "Umm…"

"Walk much?" she grumbled, getting to her feet. Inuyasha's expression changed instantly as he glared at her. "Never mind," Kagome gathered her things. "Sorry I bumped into you," she apologized, though Inuyasha had a feeling that it wasn't exactly heartfelt.

"Uh…yeah," was all he said, remembering the night before.

Kagome glared, but was still picking up her things so he didn't notice. She turned around and was about to leave. "Well, you have a nice-" Kagome froze. _'Body,'_ her mind screamed, actually seeing Inuyasha. He was, of course, still only wearing his boxers and this had completely caught Kagome off-guard.

She mentally slapped herself and was saved from an embarrassing situation. "Day. Yes, you have a nice day," she said as she walked by him, making sure to give a wide girth. Inuyasha snickered slightly, but ended up being the one caught staring. He hadn't actually seen what Kagome was wearing until she was leaving and he found himself watching her walk away.

As Kagome made her way back to camp, she looked back and noticed Inuyasha staring. A wide grin replaced her previous scowl as she entered her cabin.

Inuyasha cursed himself for a fool and continued on his way to the boys' bathroom, a light blush crossing his cheeks. Talk about reverse psychology.

The whole of the camp was supposed to be ready to eat by 7:30am, but due to it being the actual first day, exceptions were made. Although it was early, everybody still managed to drag themselves out of bed and be ready to eat by 8. It was quite a feat considering some people didn't wake up till just then.

With the camp ready and waiting in the mess hall, Kaede made another appearance. "I hope ye all enjoyed thy first day?" It was more of a question than a statement. She received groggy nods for the most part. Continuing on, Kaede said, "Today will be the day where ye all start following the schedules. Hopefully it will be easy enough to adjust to the differences, but if there are any problems, talk to Kaguya or Kaijinbo. They will see to it that it is taken care of properly.

"With that said, ye may eat thy breakfast and start yer day off with whatever the first thing on thy schedule is. Be careful and have fun," she finished her speech for the day and exited the Hall.

Everyone sat there silently, not knowing what to do. The silence was interrupted by a sharp call of, "Order's up!" which was followed by a small bell. This was obviously an invitation to eat, so everyone did.

The original 11 companions were not, as may be expected, sitting at the same table. Apparently everybody thought it best to sit with their cabins (more or less anyway). So Kagome, Sango, Ayame and Kiara were sitting with cabin-1F, meaning Momiji, Botan, Ruri and Hari. Inuyasha, Miroku, Kouga and Hojo (though the latter would have rather sit _somewhere_ else) were sitting with cabin-2E, consisting of Ginta, Hakkaku, Wazuryou and Ikkarawashii.

Kaguya and Kaijinbo allowed the campers a while to eat before they were told to return to their cabins for further instructions.

It was now almost 9 o'clock in the morning and the camp was a whole hour off-schedule. Because of the delay, their first course was to be cut short an hour. The girls entered their cabin and immediately checked their schedule, having forgotten before. Due to their little rendezvous the day before, they were going to start classes on Day2 (there being 7 days on the schedule).

For the girls, this meant cutting short their Canoeing course. For the guys (Inuyasha, Miroku, Kouga and Hojo plus Ik-kun, Wazu, Hakkaku and Ginta), it meant their Archery lesson.

The 7-Day schedules were quite simple to follow, Kiara noticed while reading over Sango's shoulder. There were 8 different courses that would last them throughout the week, four each day. It was basically Day-1 and 2 being repeated 3 times over, giving 6 days. The seventh day had no plans on it, save for breakfast, lunch and dinner, meaning it was a free day.

This was held in high esteem over at Inuyasha's cabin. A day to do whatever they wanted. They assumed in would come to good use at times. But for now, the guys were grudgingly making their way towards the Archery Course. At least they only had an hour of whatever kind of archery Tsubaki was going to teach them.

Ayame was excited for her first actual day at camp. Sure, canoeing wasn't always that fun, but nothing was going to put a damper on her lightheartedness, she decided. Kagome and Sango debated on whether or not they needed to bring anything while Kiara redid her hair. Her flowing, golden locks accentuating her rose-stained eyes, even if she did always have it put up.

Eventually, everybody was at their assigned stations and were ready to learn. The sun was shining and the sky was clear, creating a mass of sweltering heat waves. Inuyasha cursed and wondered why he chose to wear all black as Tsubaki was explaining the differences between the bows and arrows.

Finally, deciding it was just too hot, Inuyasha stripped off his black t-shirt, gaining a couple gasps from the girl's group that he had lessons with. This caused Tsubaki to cease her ramblings and notice the happenings before her.

"Mr.…Mr-"

"Tsuyaku," he provided, good-naturedly.

"Mr. Tsuyaku," she spat. "What, may I ask, do you think you are doing?"

Inuyasha tucked his shirt into his back pocket before answering, "Well, I _was_ listening to you, but you seem to be having some sort of problem…so, now I am answering your question." He grinned innocently, though how he managed that is a mystery to all.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tsubaki questioned, pointing to him, or rather, his bare (and very well-toned) chest. "I need _everyone_ to be paying attention."

"Hey!" Inuyasha countered, clearly offended. "I can still listen without my shirt on, ya know!"

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow elegantly. "Oh?" she questioned, "Then what are the 3 types of bows that we will be using, Mr. Tsuyaku?"

Inuyasha froze for a moment. True, he _could_ listen with his shirt off, but that doesn't mean he had been. "Uh…" was his oh-so-smart reply. "Oh!" Inuyasha caught sight of Miroku signaling him. The dark-haired teen curved his arm, leaving his fingers pointing forward (sort of the way your arm is positioned after shooting a basketball).

Reprocessing some of the information that had made it in his head, Inuyasha figured it out. "Ah hah! The Recurve Bow!"

"Right, and the second."

Darn, couldn't he get away with only naming one? Inuyasha glared at her before glancing at Miroku once again. He drew back, confused.

Miroku was pointing to himself.

Then, realization hit him as he answered, "The Self Bow." Tsubaki nodded again and signaled him to continue. "Er…" Miroku was stretching his hands as far apart as they would possibly go, receiving odd stares from a couple of people. "Umm…the, uh…stretch- No, that's not it. Maybe, the big- Uh-uh…or the long- Hah! The Long Bow!" Inuyasha was clearly proud of himself.

"Good. Now," Tsubaki said to all the archers, "this summer we will be using wooden arrows, as opposed to fiberglass, aluminum…" she dismissed the episode without a second thought and continued to ramble about whatever it was that she called archery. Wazuryou and Ik-kun, however, were nowhere to be seen.

Kagome screeched as she tried to get into the canoe. Sango and Kiara had managed to get into the 6-person canoe and now it was her turn, but Kagome seemed to be having difficulties. Every time she stepped into the thing, it tipped precariously to one side, almost throwing her into the water.

"Come on Kagome," Sango coaxed. "You can do it."

"I'm trying!" Kagome screamed, falling into the boat. Ayame giggled and followed after her, having no trouble upon entering the canoe. During this class, they learned the proper way to hold the paddles and propel the canoes. They didn't get to do too much canoeing, though, due to the fact that their lesson was cut short. At about ten to 10, they placed their canoes on the shore, tied them up and put away their lifejackets. After that, the class was dismissed for their 10 minute break before they began their next course.

Making their way towards their cabin, Kagome, Sango, Ayame and Kiara heard laughter coming from the left. The girls stopped, curiosity overcoming them. They turned only to find the guys walking towards their cabins, laughing their heads off.

Ikkarawashii and Wazu were, needless to say, the reason for all the humor. The two brothers were talking excitedly about something or other as they stared, mesmerized, at the arrow in Ik-kun's hands.

A shirtless Inuyasha patted the brothers on the back (apparently congratulating them on sneaking into the storage room and jacking an arrow unnoticed) before snatching the arrow up and bolting off, quick as a jackrabbit with a wolf on his heels.

Which is basically how it turned out. Wazu and Ik-kun weren't happy that their efforts were in vain, so they took chase like the wolves they were. Kagome watched on in amusement as Inuyasha ran around in circles, the brothers right on his tail.

Eventually, Wazu got the idea to go the opposite direction than Ikkarawashii and corner the thief. Ik-kun figured it would help if he could go a bit faster so he got down on all fours and sped off.

Looking behind him, Inuyasha noticed he was in for it. Wazu was heading him off while Ik-kun was catching up from behind. So, he did the only thing he could think of at the moment.

Coming within a few feet of the oncoming Wazuryou, the silver-haired hanyou turned sharply and began running towards his cabin. He looked behind him and saw as the Hakussho brothers collided with each other, head on. Inuyasha let out a laugh before placing his eyes ahead of him.

Unfortunately for him, Inuyasha didn't see much until he was lying flat on his back. "Owww…"

"Heh, poor guy," a voice was heard. Inuyasha groggily lifted his pounding head to look at what he ran into. He saw Ayame and that lynx-girl (Kiara, was it?) dusting off their outfits. Groaning, the hanyou let his head fall to the ground.

When the four girls noticed Inuyasha running full speed towards them, Ayame and Kiara (being the stronger of the four because they were demons) stood in front of Kagome and Sango and took crouching stances. They didn't have enough time for all four of them to get out of the way so this was their only option.

As Inuyasha came crashing into them, Kiara and Ayame tensed their bodies. Surprisingly, they held and Inuyasha was thrown to the ground, completely oblivious.

Hearing a gasp behind them, Ayame and Kiara moved out of the way. Kagome ran up to Inuyasha and kneeled down beside him. "Are you ok?" she asked, quite blatantly. "Um…Inuyasha? Can you hear me?" Kagome started to get worried when he didn't answer. She placed a shaking hand on his forehead.

Inuyasha's eyes fluttered before opening completely. What he was surprised him enough to jump. He was confused to see a worried expression on Kagome's face (or Kagome's face at all, for that matter) and felt her hand pressed against his head.

"Whoa whoa wh- Ouch!" After trying to move from his current position, the half demon decided he would much rather not move at all.

"Sit still," Kagome ordered sternly, yet her voice was still soft. Inuyasha nodded slightly. She turned to her friends. "What do we do?" All of them shook their heads unknowingly.

Kagome was about to ask one of them to go for help when Miroku ran up to them. "Morning ladies," he greeted before kneeling down on the other side of Inuyasha. "Hey, man." Miroku slapped his friend lightly. "He's out cold." The girls watched on in fascination as Miroku checked his pulse and breathing, but once he started pulling Inuyasha's shoes off, they looked at each other skeptically.

Miroku held the shoes upside-down and shook them, revealing a few pieces of change and a gum wrapper. Scowling, Miroku began muttering to himself. He said something about, "Placing things in difficult places," as he leaned back and looked at Inuyasha uncertainly.

With his brow furrowed in utmost concentration, Kagome didn't want to interrupt Miroku. She shrugged to the others who had the same bewildered expression.

"Ah hah!" the dark-haired teen exclaimed as he unrolled the hem of his friends' pants.

"Uh, Miroku?" Kagome was getting a bit worried.

With all his attention on what he was doing, Miroku didn't notice the looks that the girls were giving him or the fact that the rest of the guys finally decided to come and see if he was alright (Ik-kun and Wazu suffered no immediate damage from their accident).

After unrolling the second hem, Miroku shouted in triumph. From Inuyasha's right pant leg, Miroku pulled a small, capped container. He twisted the cap and poured its contents into his hand. "Anybody have water?" he asked no one in particular. Sango handed him the water bottle she was carrying when he held out his hand expectantly.

As he propped Inuyasha's head on his knee, Miroku used his teeth to open the water bottle and he poured some of the liquid onto his friend's head. "Open up, buddy." Miroku patted Inuyasha's cheek, trying to get him conscious again.

Groaning was heard and Miroku took the opportunity to stuff in the objects that were in his hand. Completing that mission, Miroku waited for him to open his mouth again to put the water in. And open it he did…when he started choking. Shrugging, Miroku sat him up a bit more and emptied the bottle of water into his mouth.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation.

Heavy sighs were released when Inuyasha's eyes shot open and he whacked Miroku upside the head. "You idiot!" he yelled, which he immediately regretted afterwards as he grabbed onto his head frustratingly.

Pushing himself from Miroku's lap, Inuyasha glared at his so-called 'friend.' Miroku was smiling proudly and it ticked Inuyasha off. "What the heck are you grinning about?"

Miroku leaned back and looked at his nails indifferently. "Oh, nothing. Just the fact that I saved your life." He raised his gaze to witness Inuyasha's reaction.

Said reaction was growling followed by quiet whimpering. Kagome heard this due to the fact that she was still sitting right beside him.

"You know, you really should get that checked out," she said, causing Inuyasha to jump.

"Damn it, woman!" Inuyasha took a deep, calming breath.

Kagome glared. "You better watch your language, mister. And I do have a name, you know," she stated, oblivious to the fact that she just called him 'mister.' "It's Ka-Go-Me, got it? Good," she finalized, patting his head roughly.

Grumbling, Inuyasha stood up. "Feh! I don't need this." He made to leave, but was stopped by Miroku.

"Forgetting something?" Miroku asked innocently while playing with the cylindrical container.

"Oh yeah," Inuyasha grabbed it and walked away without saying anything more.

Miroku shook his head. "Nice guy, ain't 'e?" He laughed at his own comment…and at what he managed to accomplish. Miroku grabbed the change that had fallen from Inuyasha's shoes earlier and pocketed it (Inuyasha hadn't noticed it was missing due to Miroku's 'distraction'). "Hey, you never know," he admitted, seeing a number of questioning looks.

Looking to the abandoned shoes on the ground (which were also forgotten), Miroku pondered for a moment. "Aw, what the heck," he shrugged grabbing up the shoes. "Just for good measure," he ensured his audience. "Hey, he got the good end," Miroku insisted. He grinned.

"Ah. Extra strength aspirin. Man's best friend."

After the whole incident was over and done with, a bell was heard throughout the campgrounds, notifying the campers that their break was over and that it was time for their next course.

Sighing exasperatedly, Kagome got to her feet and followed Ayame, Sango and Kiara to their cabin to check what their next class was.

Arriving at the rec. building, Miroku was relieved to see that Inuyasha managed to go to the right place. "Hey," Miroku greeted, swinging 'his' shoes lightheartedly. "I see you've managed to remember what out next class is."

Inuyasha laughed halfheartedly. "Hardly," he answered, then admitted, "This was my best bet, considering there are three different classes here. So what exactly are we doing anyw- Hey! Give 'em back!" He had just noticed that Miroku had _his_ shoes.

"Was wondering when you'd notice," Miroku informed, throwing Inuyasha the shoes that rightfully belonged to the hanyou. Once he got them on, they both made their way inside the building.

"You never answered my question." Inuyasha stated.

"Really?" Miroku asked. "I hadn't noticed." Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in a 'Don't get smart' look. Miroku stopped at the double doors. "This, Inuyasha, is our next class," Miroku informed, pulling the doors open to reveal a gymnasium.

"Score!" And with that Inuyasha disappeared through the doors, leaving Miroku outside, shaking his head wearily as he wondered where he had gone wrong.

The girls made there way into the large building and traveled down the hall to the gymnasium. Sango stopped, seeing Miroku standing outside the doors. Kiara walked up to him. "Hey, Miroku?" She wondered if she got his name right. He nodded.

"Kiara. And what brings you lovely ladies here?"

"Um…well, we have gym," Sango answered. "Do you?" She tried to keep the tinge of hope out of her voice, to no avail.

Miroku smirked. "You would like that, now wouldn't you?" He asked, placing his arm around her shoulders.

Sango blushed and pushed him away. "Yeah, right, you pervert."

"You didn't seem to mind last night." Miroku quirked an eyebrow, receiving another blush. She glared before walking into the gym, face beat red. Miroku turned to the others. "Ladies first," he said, holding the door open.

Upon first meeting with Naraku, everyone was afraid to do anything he recommended. He made everything sound dangerous and deadly. But, eventually they got over it and actually…well, they actually enjoyed his company. It wasn't because he was nice or anything, but because he made them feel like they had to try harder or they wouldn't accomplish anything. Perseverance, he told them, was the key.

So, persevere they did and the girls even managed to get him to play music while they were sporting away. Like he said, perseverance.

Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga were playing a game of basketball in one of the outside courts when the girls came out, heading towards the tennis court. Ayame and Kiara were apparently playing first as they were both warming up and they each had on an official-looking tennis outfit, courtesy of Kiara (who was really into tennis).

Kagome and Sango sat against the wall while watching their friends warming up. The sound of the radio playing was washing over them as Ayame and Kiara were just starting up. The peace of their surrounding was, however, torn to shreds.

"It was MY goal!"

"No way! It was MY hoop!"

Bickering could be heard from around the corner and Kagome decided to see what was going on seeing as she had nothing better to do. Turning around the corner, she noticed the three guys had stopped playing and both Kouga and Inuyasha were in the middle of an argument.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously, reaching the court.

"None of your business," Inuyasha snapped.

"Oh, hey Kagome." Kouga dropped the ball that he had been fighting over with Inuyasha and made his way over to Kagome. "How's it going?"

"Hi, Kouga," Kagome smiled at him, but not before glaring at Inuyasha. "I just came over to see what all the noise was about."

"Oh," Kouga laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Muttface just tried to score on his own team. No biggie," he replied, moving closer to the building. Inuyasha and Miroku decided to continue playing, with or without Kouga. "You wanna join us?" He asked as he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the side.

Kagome stared in shock. Why was everyone taking their shirts off? Sure, he looked good, but why right in front of her. Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha and Miroku and she noticed that they, too, were playing shirtless.

Before answering, Kagome thought about her options. "I don't know," she replied. "Being around big, sweaty guys…"

Kouga smirked. "Oh, come on, Kagome. It's not that bad. Just come play for a while. Please?"

Smiling, Kagome nodded. "If only because you have manners," she notified. Kagome was about to enter the court with Kouga when she though about Sango. "Uh, Kouga? Do you mind if I ask Sango to join us?"

Although he did look a little disappointed, Kouga nodded and Kagome ran off in the direction of the tennis court.

"Hey Sango! Do you wanna come play basketball?" Kagome asked as soon as she could see her friend.

"Whoa! Wait just a sec and breathe. Now, please repeat," Sango instructed.

Kagome sighed. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come play basketball," she repeated, just as Sango asked.

"Uh…I don't think-"

"The guys are playing shirtless and I'm sure you can get Miroku back for whatever it is you want to get him back for," Kagome interrupted.

"it would be a problem," Sango finished her sentence. "Just 'cause I want to beat that pervert at his own game," she added, just for good measure.

Kagome grinned, knowing that it was a complete lie. She didn't bother saying anything as they made their way to the courts however. Upon arriving, Kagome once again found Kouga and Inuyasha fighting. She sighed, wondering what it could be about this time.

"Uh…you guys?" Kagome tried to break them apart, but was afraid of touching their gross, sweaty bodies. "AHEM!" she 'coughed' loudly, gaining their attention. "Thank you. Now, what's going on?"

Between the two of them, there were enough glares to go around the whole camp. "Nothing," they both replied, turning away.

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Ok, if it's nothing, can we please have to ball?" she asked, indicating her and Kouga.

He grimaced. "No way!"

Tensing, Kagome shouted, "YES!"

Inuyasha relayed, "GET YOUR OWN DAMN BALL!"

Balling her fists at her side, Kagome yelled, "WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE AND I WOULD GET A BALL IF I KNEW WHERE THEY WERE!"

Grinning smugly, Inuyasha spun the ball on the tip of his finger. "I guess you'll just have to beat me for it."

Kagome breathed heavily. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, not knowing what to say. Finally, she turned to Kouga and gave him a look that clearly said, 'Do something.'

He shrugged. "Hey, Muttface, just give 'er the ball, will ya?"

Inuyasha shook his head defiantly. "Not until she beats me."

"Look, Kagome," Kouga spoke to her, "There's nothing much I can do. Why don't you just win and get it over with. I'm sure even you can beat this mutt."

Although she didn't like the sound of 'even you,' Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Fine!" she spat. "Let's just get it over with."

Inuyasha chuckled and moved to center court, Kagome following. Kouga exited the court and watched on from the sidelines as Sango gave Miroku a piece of her mind on the other court.

The radio hosts had been talking for a few minutes, but they now introduced the next song. It was 'Headstrong' by Trapt.

Facing Kagome at center court, Inuyasha grinned and said, "You know that you can't win. You should just give up 'cause your not foolin' nobody."

_Circling your- circling your- circling your head_

_Contemplating everything you ever said_

_Now I see the truth, I got a doubt_

_A different motive in your eyes and now I'm out_

_See you later_

"I can beat you," Kagome countered halfheartedly.

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Done convincing yourself, then?" He snickered as Kagome flushed angrily.

_I see your fantasy_

_You want to make it a reality paved in gold_

_See inside- inside of our heads (yeah)_

_Well now that's over_

_I see your motives inside_

_Decisions to hide_

"Well, then," Inuyasha took his stance after throwing her the ball. "Let's see what you've got." Kagome took a deep breath before nodding. She dribbled the ball past Inuyasha with a fake to the right and took off down the court.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

_I know that you are wrong_

_Headstrong-_

_We're headstrong_

After her first impression, Inuyasha decided that Kagome was playing for real. He inwardly grinned at her perseverance and took off after her, determined to win.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

_I know that you are wrong_

_And this is not where you belong_

Kagome had a safe head start and made to the other side of the court without disruption. She told herself that there was no way she would let him win. She just couldn't let him beat her with that smug expression etched onto his face.

_I can't give everything away_

_I won't give everything away_

Across the court they both went running, Inuyasha right on Kagome's heels. He saw her poise to take a shot and jumped in front, just in time. Grabbing the ball mid-flight, Inuyasha tore off down the other side of the court.

_Conclusions manifest_

_Your first impression's got to be your very best_

_I see your full of shit, and that's alright_

_That's how you play, I guess you'll get through every night_

_Well, now that's over_

Without a second thought, Inuyasha ran the last few feet and jumped. His lay-up was perfect and the ball hit the backboard in just the right place at just the right angle.

_I see your fantasy_

_You want to make it a reality paved in gold_

_See inside- inside of our heads (yeah)_

_Well, now that's over_

_I see your motives inside_

_Decisions to hide_

Even if Inuyasha was ahead this early in the game, Kagome was still not going to give up. She had determination running through her veins as she caught the ball that Inuyasha had just thrown to her. This time, she would really show him what she was made of.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

_I know that you are wrong_

_Headstrong-_

_We're headstrong_

True enough, Kagome's skill at playing basketball surprised Inuyasha, but she still wasn't as good as him. Following her down the court again, Inuyasha moved in front of her as she was about to take the shot. Kagome glared and pivoted, trying to escape from his grasp.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

_I know that you are wrong_

_And this is not where you belong_

(Where you belong)

Kagome released the basketball just as Inuyasha was moving to block her. It soared through the air, hitting the outside of the hoop.

_I can't give everything away_

_(This is not where you belong)_

_I won't give everything away_

This was his chance, and he took it. Grabbing hold of the ball once again, Inuyasha dribbled it a small distance from Kagome. He crouched down to take the shot…

_I know- I know all about_

_I know- I know all about_

_I know- I know all about_

_I know- I know all about your motives inside_

_Your decision to hide_

Kagome ran over to where Inuyasha was preparing to take the shot, but noticed something very out of the ordinary. Her opponent was…well, he was shooting on himself.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

_I know that you are wrong_

_Headstrong-_

_We're headstrong_

Disbelief was clear in her eyes as Kagome watched Inuyasha shoot the ball. There was no denying it. The ball went straight into the hoop, making a 'Swoosh' sound.

_Back off, I'll take you on_

_Headstrong to take on anyone_

_I know that you are wrong_

_And this is not where you belong_

_(Where you belong)_

A shout of protest was heard from the sidelines as Kouga hurried onto the court. "Hey, Muttface! What do you think you're doing?"

Inuyasha groaned and fell to his knees, realizing what he had just done, again.

_(This is not where you belong)_

_I can't give everything away_

_(This is not where you belong)_

_I won't give everything away_

_(Where you belong)_

_(This is not where you belong)_

Sighing wearily, the hanyou got to his feet. "Yeah yeah. Just shut it, will ya?" he said before Kouga had a chance to say anything else.

"Well, Muttface," Kouga started as he picked up the ball and began spinning it on the tip of his finger. "I'm assuming you've never played on a team before?" The wolf demon laughed. "Because, you know, with a nasty habit like that, you wouldn't get very far."

"Save it for someone who cares," Inuyasha grumbled. "Doesn't matter, I still win."

"Hey!" Kagome grew offended. "That's not fair. You shot the ball into your own hoop, which means the points go to me."

"She's got a point," Kouga shrugged to the hanyou. He passed the ball to Kagome. "And now, if you don't mind," he said to Inuyasha, "we must excuse ourselves." With that, and a last glare from Kagome, the two of them began playing a friendly game.

Inuyasha 'feh'd' and went to watch as Miroku got his butt kicked by the enraged Sango.

The gym class ended without any further dramatics. All of the youth exited the rec. building and either went to the mess hall to eat lunch, or made their way to the cabins.

Kagome and Ayame decided to head back to the cabins with Inuyasha and Kouga while Kiara and Sango saved them a table in the Hall with Miroku and Hojo.

As they were walking, Kouga congratulated Kagome on 'winning' her games against both Inuyasha and him. Kagome thanked him while giving the back of Inuyasha's head a somewhat disappointed look.

"So," the wolf demon started up a conversation. "Why aren't you going to the Mess?"

Kagome tore her gaze from Inuyasha to look at Kouga. "Oh, um…well, I just need to freshen up a bit," she stated.

Kouga nodded even though he didn't really understand what she meant by 'freshen up.' Turning to Ayame, he asked, "And what about you?"

"Huh? Wha- oh…I need to get out of this outfit," she laughed, indicating the white skirt and tank that she was wearing.

Kouga grinned. "Why?" he asked. "You look cute." And with that he tweaked her nose and ran up the stairs to his cabin seeing as they were walking in front of it.

"Wha-?" Ayame was blushing furiously, wondering if she had heard correctly.

"Don't take that wolf too seriously," Inuyasha said, leaning against the railing. "He goes around flattering anything with a pair of legs." While saying this, Inuyasha looked directly at Kagome.

She stared right back at him before retorting, "Are you implying something?"

"If I am?" Inuyasha asked, closing his eyes.

With tears in her eyes, Kagome 'humph'd' and walked away.

Also hurt by the stab taken at her, Ayame faced Inuyasha and simply said, "Bastard," before following after her friend.

Inuyasha dropped his head, allowing it to hit the rail. _'Why the hell do I have to open my mouth?'_ He sighed and made his way up the stairs that Kouga had previously climbed and entered the cabin to change into something cooler.

The mess hall seemed to be more packed than usual. All the campers were fighting for food and everyone wanted to sit outside at one of the shaded tables. Fortunately, Kiara, Sango, Miroku and Hojo were able to save a table for the rest of their friends.

Lunch for the companions went by quietly (Ikkarawashii and Wazuryou were missing once again). Everybody felt the tension as Kagome and Ayame glared daggers at Inuyasha from across the table, but nobody really wanted to bring up whatever it was that had happened.

Finally, Kagome finished eating and silently rose from the table. "See you guys next class," she murmured before turning and making her way to the cabins.

Inuyasha looked up and couldn't help but notice the glare that a certain emerald-eyed youkai was giving him. Inuyasha sighed and pushed himself up. "Fine," he told her, though everybody else was oblivious to the happenings around them.

Obviously glum, Inuyasha walked after Kagome, contemplating on how to approach her. He figured the best way was to just come out with it. Say he was 'sorry' and get it over with. Short, sweet and to the point.

Coming up on the cabins, Inuyasha noticed Kagome sitting on one of the tree stumps that served as benches between the girls' and boys' cabins. He hesitated a moment before continuing towards her.

Kagome was sitting back on the stump, enjoying the sunlight. She sighed heavily and kept telling herself that he was just a jerk and wasn't worth her frustration. Eventually, she stopped thinking about it altogether and enjoyed the warmth of the rays shining down on her.

Quietly, Inuyasha made his way towards her, still a bit unsure. When he was about two meters away, Kagome's eyes snapped open. She looked at the source of the noise and simply said, "Oh. It's you," before closing her eyes and turning away from him completely.

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed, "It's me. Listen, Kagome-"

"Know what? I don't need to hear it. Just keep whatever you're about to say to yourself, ok?" and with that, Kagome pushed herself from the stump and walked quickly to her cabin.

Inuyasha growled before following after her. There was no way he was going to lose this battle. Unfortunately for him, Kagome apparently had the wrong idea of what he was trying to tell her.

Picking up speed, Inuyasha found himself standing at the top of the steps of one of the girls' cabins. He had both of his hands on the two railings, his back facing the door while he faced Kagome.

"Just hear me out," Inuyasha looked her in the eye. "I just came to say-"

Kagome crossed her arms and looked away, extreme loathing apparent.

Glaring (although she couldn't see it), Inuyasha though a moment. After sighing heavily, he took one of his hands and placed it underneath Kagome's jaw, positioning her face so that she was looking him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry," he admitted in a soft voice, meant for her ears alone. "Ok? I didn't mean it."

Surprise is a bit of an understatement for what Kagome felt. She had expected more insults, not a heartfelt apology.

The Inu-hanyou was surprisingly patient while waiting for her reaction. He allowed her the time she needed as they stood suspended in time.

Unfortunately for the both of them, a loud exaggerated cough was heard. "Am I interrupting something?" the feminine voice was unmistakable.

Inuyasha realized where his hand was and what it probably looked like so he dropped it like a rock and faced Ayame. After climbing down the steps and making his way towards her, Inuyasha fought down the slight blush that had appeared. "Happy now?" he asked her silently before walking away without another word.

Ayame grinned when she realized that Inuyasha was just apologizing to Kagome. The wolf youkai made her way to where her friend was still standing on the steps. "Hey, Kagome. How are you feeling?" she asked, pretending to know nothing of what had just happened.

Kagome blinked a couple of times and shook her head. "I…yeah, I'm fine," she stated, looking to where Inuyasha was previously standing.

"What was…_that_ all about?" Ayame asked, pointing to her and the retreating Inuyasha in the distance.

Blushing, Kagome remembered what had happened and she merely said, "Oh…um, he was just apologizing for earlier." She waited another moment before entering the cabin.

The afternoon passed at a soothing pace, not going too fast as to reap the benefits, but not too slow as to bore the entire camp. For Kagome's cabin this meant returning to the sports hall for their first class playing a variety of different games, followed by an intense lesson on the ways of music. Each of them were paired up with an instrument that Ryuukotsusei insisted was meant to be. Destiny, if you will. Although not entirely everybody was partnered up. A few talented people were recognized for their melodic voices and were told they were going to go through training with which they will use to enhance their vocals.

Kagome was informed that, while she had a nice voice, she would do much better playing the piano. Sango was happy to learn that she could try out the drums, though Ryuukotsusei stated that if she didn't like them as much as she thought, he would suggest moving to guitar. Lastly, lucky Ayame and Kiara were two of the chosen vocalists. When Ayame was informed of this information, she blushed and shuffled her feet while Kiara blinked a few times, just a bit shocked.

Inuyasha's cabin was faced with the task of…Art! During this class, they learned the basics of what they were to expect. To end the afternoon, the boys moved over to the lake where they would be taking their first canoeing lesson. Alas, the boats weren't the only things to get wet…

Wazuryou, Ikkarawashii, Hakkaku and Ginta showed up for the afternoon courses. These consisted of first going to the sports hall and playing games with Kagome's group, followed by swimming lessons with Musou. Although said swimming lessons were mainly an orientation and indication of where each student was, the four still managed to have a little fun.

Due to the fact that the canoes were nearby shore most of the first lesson, they were able to sneak over without catching the attention of Musou and paying a short visit to Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga. Oh, yeah. Hojo too.

To make a long story short, Inuyasha's group returned soaking wet with a broken paddle. After receiving the smallest of injuries (courtesy of said paddle), Ginta started a mud tag game. This lasted the rest of the lesson.

With the day over and done with (well, the courses, anyway), all the campers were content to just relax on the beach or drift off lazily to sleep in their cabins. This grace period lasted for about half an hour due to the fact that they were called to the Mess Hall at 5:30.

Everybody dragged their bodies to the Hall and began their ravenous journey to the bottom of their plates. Although it was the first (and probably easiest) actual day at camp, the campers figured that it would get easier from then on. Each and every person had their time to relax as they lazed in the evening sun after their meal (and apple pie with vanilla ice cream for desert).

The day ended in a cozy silence as the campers greedily awaited their beds.

**To be continued…**

**A/N: **Ok then. There's another chapter over and done with. Hopefully it turned out ok, but who's to say? Anyway, I would really like to apologize for keeping this from you guys for so long, so…sorry. Thanks again for letting me take up your time. Always a pleasure.

Ankoku no Ookami

**Next Chapter:** Don't worry. I haven't (and I hope you hadn't) forgotten about the promise I made last time. There will be an odd surprise popping into the story at some point, so be prepared for that. I won't give any hints because I want it to be a full-out surprise. In the next chapter we have some fun in the water and maybe a nasty prank or two. Tune in next time!


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